Neither Presidents George W. Bush nor Barak Obama can be accused of causing the the current crisis in Iraq. However, both bear responsibility for that nation’s current state of affairs. Both erred in failing to understand the historical nature and profound depth of Iraq and the region’s sectarianism and the ease with which idealists, ideologues […]

Iraq is collapsing. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has promised to respond. But the ease with which ISIS fighters took major cities and the shocking capitulation of the Iraqi army and police raise serious questions over Maliki’s leadership and the army’s capability. Outsiders, including Turkey, Iran, the US and even the Kurds, are making their […]

The U.S. approach to undermining Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has been surprisingly constrained and unimaginative. US military action in Syria can now be essentially disregarded. Still, the United States possesses one particularly effective weapon that it can deploy: advanced technology. The U.S. and others should begin immediately to create a virtual Syrian government-in-exile on the […]

The collapse of security on Iraq’s western and northern fronts portends a number of disturbing outcomes, from partitioning to, in a twist of irony, Iraq inviting Iranian troops to fill the role of the US before its withdrawal. Iraq is collapsing. The Middle Eastern nation, where nearly 4,500 American lives were lost and nearly one […]

Despite the breakdown in peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, both sides must continue to talk. If no Israeli, Palestinian or American alternative is able to break the ice jam of peace negotiations, what can happen? The answer is the least satisfying and most uncertain option: keep talking. But how? Failure by the Israelis and […]