Trump the Diplomat? Will He Charm or Harm US Relations?
Whoever put together President Trump’s first foreign tour has a good grasp of the grand gesture. When he departs Friday, his main stops are Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the Vatican, making Trump the first U.S. leader to visit the seats…
Meet the Man Who Should Be the Next Secretary of State
Former ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman is that rare thing, an honest and wise diplomat—which is why he’ll probably never be appointed. Late this past summer, when I mentioned to Andrew Bacevich that I had interviewed Chas Freeman and…
As US Clout in the Mideast Declines, Russia and Iran Muscle In
It has long been clear that the Obama administration will hand its successor a dangerous mess in the Middle East, centering on Syria and emanating outward. Is it now ceding so much initiative that it risks delivering the next president…
Reconstructing the Middle East
How Might It Be Done? There is an odd precision attaching to certain key events in the Middle East. Jimmy Carter’s third and final State of the Union address on January 23, 1980, was his “doctrine” speech and set in…
Can Obama’s Successor Sort Out His Middle East Mess?
Whoever goes to the White House in November will have one foreign policy challenge above all others: How to navigate transitions between two of America’s Middle East alliances that daily events are rendering inevitable. On one side of this question…
The Mideast Mess Obama Will Leave Behind
What a dismal week in the Middle East for the Obama administration. In the course of a couple of days, the partial ceasefire in Syria began to fray, the peace talks in Geneva turned stony, and the Saudis pointedly cold-shouldered…
As reckless as George W. Bush: Hillary Clinton helped create disorder in Iraq, Libya, Syria — and, scarier, doesn’t seem to understand how
American primacy at all cost. That’s her dangerous guiding mission. Only Bush, Nixon loved imperial adventure more As of the voting in various primaries last week and this week, Hillary Rodham Clinton has the surest way to the White House…
He’s made the Middle East worse: Let’s be honest, Obama bears as much responsibility for this mess as predecessors who shaped them
Decades of poorly concocted policies with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and others haunt us — and worsen every day It is all there now for us to see. Decades of cynical, poorly devised policy in the Middle East, vacant of…
It’s Paul Krugman vs. Noam Chomsky: This is the history we need to understand Paris, ISIS
Krugman mocks idea that US imperialism’s at root of all evil. But scars of our meddling are key to the Middle East Two remarks a few days apart lead straight to the question posed in this space after last Friday’s tragic events…
We brought this on ourselves: After Paris, it is time to square our “values” with our history
The West’s behaved horrifically in Middle East for decades. We can’t be surprised by Paris. Let’s look in a mirror Another horrific attack emanates from the shattered, shredded Middle East into the beating hearts of Western civilization. It is impossible…
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