Bush, Obama, Trump and American Power
George W. Bush and Barack Obama were, in many ways, polar opposites in world view. The former saw black and white and an eternal struggle […] More
Strategic View
It’s a Win-Win-Win Scenario for Russia
Even before the release of the unclassified version of the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions regarding Russian hacking and involvement in the U.S. presidential elections, before […] More
Six Ways to Recommit to the U.S. Partnership with Saudi Arabia
Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president, subscribed to the philosophy, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” a line attributed to Sun Tzu, the famous […] More
A Legacy in the Making: Obama's Approach to Security Sector Assistance
From drone warfare to the targeting of Osama Bin Laden, President Barack Obama’s legacy on peace and security issues is largely being defined by a […] More
The Failure to Negotiate with North Korea
In our graduate school, we emphasize the importance of understanding the history, culture, and political system of an adversary, which often gives you a better […] More
Re-Thinking Iraq: A Problem Can Become a Solution
Should we think of Iraq as a solution rather than a problem? For most Americans, Iraq is immediately associated with words like: disaster, problem, mess, […] More
The Lord’s Resistance Army: Still a Threat
Exactly five years ago this October, about 100 United States Army Special Forces deployed in Central Africa to assist the Ugandan military in its fight […] More
A Bigger Problem than War: Water Security in the Middle East
Water scarcity is potentially a very stressful issue in Middle East, the most water-contested region in the world. According to World Resources Institute (WRI) rankings, […] More
"Grave Threats": American Security and the Next U.S. President
From Syria, to climate change, North Korea, and the largest global refugee flows in history, the next President will face a uniquely challenging set of […] More
Putin Could Hit the Trifecta If Trump Wins the White House
The relationship between Russia and the United States has always been and will always be complicated. In the U.S. and the West in general, hope […] More
The Case for No-First-Use
The conditions under which a U.S. president might use nuclear weapons has in recent weeks become a topic of national conversation. Toward the end of […] More
You Can’t Put Syria's Pieces Back Together Again
Fighting in Aleppo has intensified with a Russian-backed government offensive to capture the rebel-held sector of Syria’s largest city. The United States and its allies […] More
China's Counter-Terrorism Law and the Uyghurs
On 27 December 2015, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) passed the country’s first counterterrorism legislation. The law carried sweeping provisions, enabling not only China’s various […] More
North Korea: A Perennial Nuisance
The latest North Korean nuclear test has caused the international community to once again reexamine all of the available policy options for how to hinder […] More
Don’t Rely on Iran’s Good Intentions
There is a small window of time for the United States and its allies to determine what kind of nuclear technologies are delivered to Tehran, […] More
After ISIS: A New ISIS
In August, U.S. President Barack Obama reassured the Pentagon that the Islamic State will “inevitably be defeated.” U.S. government officials, generals, and pundits have been […] More
Beware of Boko Haram's Resilience
While claims last week by a Nigerian army spokesman that Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau was “fatally wounded” in an August 19 airstrike should be […] More
Facing the New Reality of Homegrown Terrorism
“If you know the enemy and know yourself,” Sun Tzu once wrote, “you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.” When it comes […] More