Next Steps on Iran: Nuclear Talks with the US or Airstrikes by Israel?
Will President Trump agree to enter into renewed nuclear negotiations with Iran that allow Iran to avoid Israeli airstrikes? According to the Institute for Science and International Security, Iran is around six months away from being able to build a crude nuclear bomb, and likely several more months from having a nuclear warhead on a […]
The Inevitability of Greenland
“Ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” posted President Donald Trump in announcing tech executive Ken Howery as his nominee for ambassador to Denmark, which counts the world’s largest island as one of its two “autonomous territories.” Feverish international reactions followed. The governments of both Denmark and Greenland repeatedly declared the island is […]
Will Ukraine Survive a Russo-American Deal?
From the first day of his return to the White House, Donald Trump has made a point of demonstrating that he intends to carry out his campaign promises. In addition to the flurry of executive orders that he began to issue within hours of his inauguration, Trump has also made waves internationally. By threatening to […]
From Liberal Wars to Illiberal Peace
President Trump has emphasized how peaceful the world was during his first administration compared with the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East that characterized Biden’s presidency. Trump aspires to end the ongoing wars and restore international peace. We should also distinguish between two kinds of war and peace – liberal and illiberal. It’s possible […]
Milei Races Against Time to Remake Argentina
For decades, Argentina has been a cautionary tale of a once prosperous nation undergoing slow multi-decade collapse, proof of what happens when a society persistently ignores all the warning signs of prolonged mismanagement. In November 2023, Argentina’s voters broke with the past and elected Javier Milei, an economist with a wild haircut, the rhetorical style […]
Syria in Turmoil: The View from Jerusalem
Following the collapse of the Asad regime in December, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved to take over the highest peak of Mount Hermon across its border with Syria. Israel will remain there indefinitely, stated Minister of Defense Israel Katz recently. The IDF has long-term plans for Syria, and the expectation is that the current […]
President Trump Faces Two Major Issues in the Middle East
The future of Gaza is not one of them
The future of Gaza is not one of them
President Donald Trump has enhanced his reputation for unpredictability in foreign policy with his novel suggestion, at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the people currently living in the Gaza Strip be evacuated and that the United States assume control of that territory and rebuild it. The president is surely […]
President Trump: Kuwait Should Be Next!
Trump’s initial foreign policy moves are producing results. Venezuela and Colombia agreed to accept the return of their citizens who entered America illegally. Mexico is sending 10,000 soldiers to its border with the US border to staunch the flow of migrants and drugs. Canada wants to negotiate, urgently. Panama agreed not to renew its infrastructure borrowing […]
The “Alternative For Germany” in the Upcoming Bundestag Elections
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. It was not a Machtergreifung, or seizure of power. Instead, Hitler was installed in office at the behest of a cabal led by Franz von Papen, the head of the Catholic Center Party. Papen believed that he could manipulate the Nazi leader for his own […]
Fighting the Information War in the Middle East, One Case at a Time
The Islamist terrorist armies – Hamas, Hizbullah, Ansarallah (the Houthis) – and their backers are not able to win wars against the US allies in the Middle East. But they are able to win information campaigns. In so doing, they can influence and prepare Middle Eastern publics for future rounds of conflict. The Arabic media […]
The Upside Potential of Postwar Ukraine
Post-war Ukraine will offer enormous commercial opportunities and powerful people-to-people connections. American businesses and research institutions will benefit from a rich pool of knowledge and skilled workers. This upside potential awaits a Trump administration seeking a conclusion to the war now entering its third year. Ukraine’s policymakers will face an immediate postwar economic challenge: finding […]
Pakistan’s Fragility - An Early Test for the Trump Administration?
Pakistan’s nuclear rivalry with India began in earnest in May 1998, when Pakistan conducted five underground nuclear explosions. Since then, the two South Asian powers have further developed their nuclear arsenals, building and testing air, sea and land-launched missiles that can reach every corner of the other country. India holds an advantage in long-range ballistic […]
