The Islamic State’s Je Ne Sais Quoi
In case you missed it, you should spend a few minutes watching former Amb. Alberto Fernandez’s June 10 interview with CBS’s Margaret Brennan. Fernandez, as you may recall, was appointed coordinator of...
View ArticleEndgames with Iran
Iran and the United States did battle this weekend, as twelve thousand spectators packed Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, on Friday and again on Sunday, to watch the two nations face off in World League...
View ArticleThe War that Haunts Iran’s Negotiators
The historic nuclear diplomacy taking place in Vienna’s elegant Coburg Palace has roots in a gritty war between Iran and Iraq that ended more than a quarter of a century ago. Iran suffered more than a...
View ArticleWhat If No Agreement Is Reached on Iran’s Nuclear Program?
President Barack Obama threatened Tuesday to walk away from nuclear negotiations if Iran doesn’t adhere to the principles it agreed to in April. Negotiators have formally extended talks to July 7 to...
View Article5 Reasons America Should Fear the Global Middle Class
In his last State of the Union address, President Obama made a pitch for “middle class economics” to help America’s beleaguered middle class, which continues to face stagnant wages, job displacement...
View ArticleIs No Nuclear Deal With Iran a Better Outcome for Obama?
I still think the odds favor a deal, soon, on the Iran nuclear issue. But as negotiations have continued, and in light of Iranian demands to eliminate the U.N. arms embargo, including restrictions on...
View ArticleA New Vision for US Foreign Policy
In an era of new and emerging global threats, Senator Chris Murphy believes there is an urgent need for a new vision for US foreign policy. During a recent Wilson Center address, he outlined eight...
View ArticleAn Iran Deal, At Last
After nineteen days of marathon negotiations and four missed deadlines, Iran and the world’s six major powers announced a nuclear deal in Vienna this morning. The exhaustive and elusive...
View ArticleWe Got To Yes. Now It’s Time for a Reality Check.
Unsurprisingly, the Obama administration is excited about the nuclear agreement with Iran. Having spent years in negotiations, I know how hard it is to get anything done — I mean anything, let alone an...
View ArticleFive Things to Watch for in the Wake of Iran Nuclear Deal
Whether you’re about to break open the champagne or don sack cloth over the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, you may have questions about the agreement. Here are five things to look out for in the coming days,...
View ArticleTwo World-Changing Deals
After endless, and sometimes seemingly hopeless, negotiations, diplomats have produced two new multinational deals that go a long way toward righting what’s been going wrong in the world: one on...
View ArticleIsolated Russia has little left to lose
The one-year anniversary of the tragic shooting down of Flight MH17 over Ukraine is an opportunity to take stock of the costs of Europe's latest, biggest, and apparently most intractable security...
View ArticleAmerica is losing the digital war against the Islamic State
Two weeks ago in Boston, authorities stopped a disturbed young man before he could launch a terror attack; tragically, last week in Chattanooga, the story ended very differently. Law enforcement...
View ArticleHow Iran Got What It Wanted From the Nuclear Deal
The Iran nuclear deal brings to mind, of all things, the Rolling Stones. The Stones were wrong when they sang that you can’t always get what you want. In the agreement announced this week, the Obama...
View ArticleTehran’s Promise
As the diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program entered a final phase, in Europe, I visited the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, the ideologue of Iran’s 1979 revolution, in Tehran. One of the grandest mausoleums...
View ArticleHow Not to Sell the Iran Nuclear Deal
The Iran nuclear deal is effectively done. The chances that Congress will be able to block the agreement appear remote. The White House appears able, in at least one house, to hold off the two-thirds...
View ArticleThe Iran Nuke Deal Could End Any Hope of Israeli-Palestinian Peace
Whether you’re for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), against it, or somewhere in between, the Iran nuclear agreement will have profound consequences for a Middle East already in the...
View ArticleTaliban Leader Mullah Omar’s Death Confirmed
Asia Program Senior Associate, Michael Kugelman speaks about the significance of the confirmed death of Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar.
View ArticleWhat’s Behind Turkey’s U-Turn on the Islamic State?
After years of disagreement, the United States and Turkey are preparing to fight together in Syria. In a major turnabout last week, the Turkish government announced that it would open its southern air...
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