Vegas Massacre Exposes Underbelly of Soft Targets
Firing from 32 stories up at a crowd a block away, a lone gunman killed at least 59 people and injured hundreds more, in a […] More
United States
‘We Might Succeed at Regime Change, but We Almost Always Fail after the Fact’
The United States has long sought to export its system of liberal democracy abroad. In places where military juntas and dictators have risen – and […] More
Regime Change: What Is It Good For?
It is easy to see why regime change could be appealing to foreign policymakers. Why bother to persuade, bribe, or threaten a defiant foreign country […] More
Trump Calls Tillerson’s Talks with North Korea a Waste of Time
President Donald Trump called negotiations with North Korea a waste of time Sunday morning, directly contradicting Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statement only one day […] More
Washington’s Chaos Will Follow its New Ambassador to Moscow
The new U.S. ambassador to Russia will go to Moscow at a grim time for U.S.-Russia relations, but his biggest challenge won’t come from the […] More
An American Tragedy of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico may well be the most unusual and paradoxical situation in world affairs, and now it ranks among the most tragic. The existence of […] More
Uncertainties of Vietnam Return in War on Terror
The U.S.-led coalition has achieved significant success this year in the battle against ISIS, first in Mosul and now in Raqqa where nearly 80 percent […] More
Trump Policy Change Increases Efficiency of Fight
The U.S.-led coalition’s battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria has crossed significant milestones this year, supporting the final liberation of Mosul by Iraqi forces […] More
Rising Toll on Civilians Haunts Victories against ISIS
The fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is nearing its second major victory this year as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – an allied […] More
Afghan Opium Trade Sticks a Thorn in Iran’s Side
As Afghanistan’s neighbor to the west, Iran has significant security and economic interests vis-à-vis Afghanistan. Relations between the two countries have been complicated for centuries, […] More
The Global Commons is a Great Good
How governments view powerful tools like the internet often determines how they treat them. In the West, governments have sought to let citizens freely and […] More
U.S. Human Rights Policy Can Help Friends and Hobble Foes
The administration of President Donald Trump has focused very little on the promotion of U.S. values – particularly international human rights – in its first […] More
Will U.S. Human Rights Efforts Wilt Under Trump?
In remarks to his staff at the State Department this May, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to announce a departure from decades of U.S. […] More
“The Right Thing to Do”: Why Values Matter in Policymaking
Most casual students of U.S. history and foreign policy consider the beginning of the Carter Administration (1977) as the point at which concern for human […] More
Leave Military Decisions to Those Who Actually Served
In miniature, President Trump’s impetuous attempt to ban transgender individuals from military service illustrates why he is not qualified to be Commander-in-Chief of America’s armed […] More
Do Not Accept North Korea as a Nuclear Armed Power
Following North Korea’s six nuclear test, reported to be far more powerful than any previous test conducted by the Kim regime, many wonder if denuclearizing […] More
Kim and Trump Keep Fire and Fury Burning
North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon underground early Sunday morning, demonstrating both its destructive power as well as its defiance of the international community. In […] More
U.S. Calculus in Afghanistan Must Factor in Taliban’s Own Equations
Immediately following President Donald Trump’s speech on Afghanistan last Monday, the gears of the U.S. foreign policy machine began to turn, and experts analyzed what the […] More