Oye. Didn’t I, as Israel’s prime minister, already have enough problems? Let’s see: Syria’s most radical rebels are gaining strength among the opposition to Bashar al-Assad, so they’ll be better positioned to turn their guns on us after they topple him. Meanwhile, the Golan Heights is growing more dangerous as al-Assad threatens to convert his …
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey’s acknowledgment this week that Iran “is a threat to U.S. national security in many ways,” and not just in its pursuit of nuclear weapons, is both welcome and timely. In highlighting Iran’s nuclear pursuit, U.S. policymakers and pundits have cast insufficient light on Tehran’s other activities in the …
President Obama’s counter-terrorism strategy, which he unveiled last week in a high-profile speech at the National Defense University, is less off-base than incomplete, reflecting his effort to limit the scope of the problem and the requirements of the response in ways that will prove inadequate to the challenge. In nearly 7,000 words, Obama expressed ambivalence …
In his 2010 book, The Strong Horse, Lee Smith counseled that, in the Middle East, what matters in shaping the loyalty of the masses is which “strong horse” – whether a person or a country – can impose its will on others. The title refers to the celebratory remark by Osama bin Laden after the …
Fresh off the failure of Almaty, where global negotiators again received nothing for their slavish effort to convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear pursuit, Western diplomats insisted that talks would continue. “There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue,” a Western diplomat told Reuters this week. “I would not expect a breakdown.” Why? Because …
History is an imperfect teacher. The lessons from events of the past often contradict one another, leaving policymakers the challenge of deciding which ones are most relevant to the issues of today. That challenge lies at the heart of the debate over what to do about Iran’s quest for nuclear weaponry. On that issue, history …
Continue reading “On Iran, the right lesson is Hitler, not Mao”
Good news, everyone. Nuclear talks are resuming on Feb. 26 between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany – and not a minute too soon. The Islamic Republic has been making notable progress on the nuclear front, perhaps even approaching an ominous “break-out” capability on technology …
Continue reading “Rest Assured – Nuclear Talks With Iran Are Resuming”