Van Jackson, War on the Rocks
In a recent piece warning about an emerging arms race in hypersonic missiles, The New York Times quotedWill Roper, the Air Force’s senior acquisition and technology official, saying that the United States needed to invest more in such advanced weapons “if we want to dominate this new domain of fast flight.” This kind of statement is emblematic of a defense establishment that thinks in terms of military superiority — a...
Pavel Felgenhauer, Jamestown Foundation
President Vladimir Putin once again surprised everyone by using his annual address to a joint session of both houses of parliament to announce constitutional changes, a government reshuffle and the ouster of his long-time loyal subordinate, Dmitry Medvedev (54). The dismissed prime minister has been working with Putin since the early 1990s, in the St. Petersburg city administration. And he served as quasi-figurehead president of Russia from 2008 to... Читать дальше...
Ian Bogost, The Atlantic
With a phone, anywhere else is always just a tap away.
Benny Avni, New York Sun
“Until 2006, our relation with Iran was minimal,” says a Venezuelan journalist, Maibort Petit, currently based in America. That year, she says, Venezuela’s president, at the time Hugo Chavez, traveled to Tehran and all but fell in love with the country’s then-president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Pretty soon, “Iran became very important for the Bolivarian revolution,” Ms. Petit says.
Brandon Weichert, RealClearWorld
There have been many untruths spoken about the American role in Iran since the rise of the revolutionary Islamist government in 1979. As Hassan Rouhani, the current president of Iran, infamously told audiences at a campaign rally: “The beautiful cry of ‘Death to America!’ unites our people.” (Rouhani, mind you, is...
Mohamed El-Erian, Project Syndicate
The Trump administration's unilateral approach to trade and foreign adversaries like Iran is reminiscent of the Reagan administration's strategy against the Soviet Union. Both game theory and the historical record show that aggressive "non-cooperation" can be effective, but only if it is used carefully.
Simon Henderson, The Hill
In today’s Middle East, Washington still needs Oman — and the almost untested Sultan Haitham, needs friends. Although he served as a diplomat and foreign ministry official earlier in his career, his most recent testing has been as minister of heritage and culture. Omani noses were put out of joint earlier in the Trump administration when the president visited Riyadh in 2017 for a Gulf summit and his...
David Whineray, The Hill
U.S. tensions with Europe are not new. The Iraq War famously divided the Atlantic partners. But previous fallouts have been over policy. Today, the very concept and value of the transatlantic alliance is questioned. Donald Trump is the first modern U.S. president to undermine, rather than encourage, European integration; to view the European Union as a threat instead of an ally; to inject conditionality and uncertainty into NATO.
Sam Sweeney, National Review
Liberal democrats, Islamists, ethnic and religious minorities, majorities not in power — all define the concept differently.
Desmond Lachman, The Hill
By signing a phase-one trade agreement with China, President Trump most likely has succeeded in preventing a crisis of his own making from spiraling out of control. At least now, in the run up to the November election, it seems highly unlikely that we will have an escalation in the U.S.-China trade war that has caused so much damage to the U.S. and world...
Gershon Baskin, Jerusalem Post
It is not only Arab voters who are deeply disappointed with the construct of the merged list. Israel needs a new vision and pragmatic camp of leaders.
Ben Fishman, Washington Institute
After the fall of Sirte, Erdogan and Putin’s desired ceasefire can only be achieved with Washington’s support.
Reid Standish & Amy Mackinnon, Foreign Policy
How an obscure taxman just became Putin’s No. 2.
Regina Smyth, The Conversation
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for 20 years and faces term limits in 2024, has begun his effort to consolidate control and maintain his hold on power after the next elections. The cabinet and prime minister’s resignations are part of that effort.
Kadri Liik, European Council on Foreign Relations
A political transition has started in Russia. While preserving a powerful role for Vladimir Putin, 2024 might nonetheless bring about real-enough change.
Brookings Institution
Sang Hyun Lee, 38 North
President Moon Jae-in is approximately halfway through his term in office and there are many conflicting assessments about his administration’s national security policy. Some people say that Moon has accomplished a “visible peace and touchable peace economy” on the peninsula, referring to early breakthroughs in inter-Korean relations in 2018. Others argue that the peace today is quite fragile and that no real progress has been made on North Korean denuclearization... Читать дальше...