Clik here to view.
Has Syria become Obama’s Rwanda?
I have been ruminating on the closing lines in Peter Feaver's post below, suggesting that "Syria may prove to be Obama's Rwanda." I worry that Peter is correct. The similarities are striking. A...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Five things Hagel should do now
The Congress has consented, allowing Chuck Hagel to become secretary of defense, but not without badly bruising him along the way. It must also be said, however, that he bruised himself during the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Deceptively good trade news
A couple months ago, the New Yorker posted a story and wonderful online video about a master pickpocket. This person was willing to demonstrate his art on camera. Even so, he moved so quickly that it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A blueprint for restoring American exceptionalism
The Obama administration's minimalist foreign policy, animated by domestic political expediency and a cramped view of America's responsibilities to uphold the liberal international order from which it...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The pitfalls of practicing strategery
The quarter-century-old debate about America's grand strategy grinds on. Will and Dan both commented favorably on a report by the Project for a United and Strong America called "Setting Priorities for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Obama's outreach is welcome, if overdue
The Beltway fascination of the past week has been President Obama's efforts to reach across the aisle. It is probable that his collapsing approval ratings are behind some of the efforts, and the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
An internal rift at the NSC?
Saturday's New York Times ran a front page story about what appears to be a serious internal rift in the Obama national security staff. At first glance, the story might look like a customary puff...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Well done, Mr. President. Now for the hard work of making peace
President Obama is a nonpareil speaker. Yesterday he may have given the greatest speech of his career. Addressing an audience of young Israelis -- that country's future -- he made it clear that he...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Kim Jong Un’s two escalation ladders
The media is transfixed on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's threat to escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula. Kim has already declared that the North is on a full war footing, put his rocket...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Rogue state rollback on the Korean peninsula?
North Korea's recent saber-rattling raises troubling new questions about the bipartisan failure of American policy to limit Pyongyang's armed recklessness and to manage its growing threat to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What would Niebuhr say?
If readers of ForeignPolicy.com have detected a "West Coast" vibe to the website this week, that's because many of us regular contributors are currently attending the International Studies Association...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Time for a no-fly zone over Syria
Experts and policymakers watching the situation in Syria are conflicted about what should be done to stop the bloody actions of the Assad government. Those who support a "responsibility to protect"...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Military mistakes and the tragedy of power
I have been thinking a lot about military mistakes lately. This is partly triggered by the series of Iraq-related ten-year anniversaries, which will lead us to replay through our rear-view mirror the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Budget follies
It's hard not to despair about the irresponsibility of politicians in Congress, the White House, and the Pentagon (suited and uniformed) watching the FY2014 budget process unfold. The good news is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The biggest victim of the Bush legacy? The left's capacity for strategic thought
In his excellent critique of the critics of the Bush foreign policy legacy, Peter Feaver spotlighted Water Russell Mead's advice to Republicans to reflect "openly and honestly" on how the 43rd...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Not even one cheer for offshore balancing?
As Syria descends further into the maw of a sectarian civil war fueled by militant islamism -- and Iraq teeters on the brink of it -- the options for American foreign policy look increasingly grim....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two lessons from Iraq that could haunt Obama's Syria policy
There are many ways that painful lessons from the Iraq war have been shaping or will come to shape Obama's Syria policy. Here are two I have not seen discussed much yet: 1. The public punishes policy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jimmy Carter gets it wrong on Venezuela, again
Last year, in the run-up to what would be Hugo Chávez's final election, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter provided the ultimate cover for the late caudillo when he called the Venezuelan election...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Did Hillary Clinton have it right back in 2008?
All presidents make serious mistakes. Presidential leadership comes not from avoiding mistakes, but from having the humility, wisdom, and courage to correct those mistakes. There are growing signs...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Syria policy even Obama could love
Will and Peter have raised importantpoints about the Obama administration's policy failings with regard to Syria. The President's approach combines the worst of moral negligence ("If he drops sarin on...
View Article
