In The News

The Great War’s Ominous Echoes

Margaret MacMillan December 30, 2013
More than 10 million soldiers and many civilians died in the First World War, 1914-1918. An assassination, incidental in the century’s overall history, triggered the massive war spurred by national rivalries and reckless arms race. “The approaching centenary should make us reflect anew on our vulnerability to human error, sudden catastrophes, and sheer accident,” writes author Margaret MacMillan...

US Suspends Nonlethal Aid to Syria Rebels

Michael R. Gordon, Mark Landler, Anne Barnard December 13, 2013
US aid for Syrian over the past two years has been limited and non-lethal, but the Obama administration has temporarily stopped that, too, after a group of Islamist fighters stormed warehouses containing US equipment. The US is not keen on extending military aid for rebels that could fall in the Islamists hand or see them rise to power in a transitional government. Identifying moderates amid...

A Dangerous Interregnum

Roger Cohen November 29, 2013
The 9/11 attacks, followed by long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have left the United States exhausted, which has transformed its approach to the globe. New York Times columnist Roger Cohen cites political theorist Antonio Gramsci who suggested that transitions, during which old ways resist new approaches, can magnify crisis. The United States, and other nations, too, have taken an “inward turn...

Turkey Seeks to Lock in Long-Term Security

Soner Cagaptay November 18, 2013
Turkey briefly tried isolation until the Arab Spring when it pivoted toward the United States: “The two nations worked with other countries to oust Moammar Gaddafi in Libya that year and, early on, coordinated policies against the Assad regime,” writes Soner Cagaptay. But the United States could not win UN Security Council approval for sanctions or intervention in Syria, due to vetoes from...

Risky Business: Talking to the Taliban

Paula Newberg November 18, 2013
The US would like to ease its withdrawal from Afghanistan after 12 years of war. Shortly after Pakistan announced a plan to hold talks with the Pakistani Taliban, a US drone strike killed the group’s leader, Hakimullah Mehsud. With a violent record, the Pakistani Taliban has not shown interest in compromise or peace, and “the country’s labyrinthine military and political makeup and its often...

The Kennedy Temptation

Ian Buruma November 14, 2013
Assassinations of popular leaders prompt many to speculate what might have been had they lived. Citizens mourn that a violent killer or a small group of extremists can dash the hopes and choice of many as was the case with US President John F. Kennedy. “America’s national politics is so poisoned by provincial partisanship – especially among Republicans, who have hated Obama from the beginning –...

The US and Pakistan: An Incompatible Couple

Dilip Hiro October 31, 2013
As the United States withdraws forces from landlocked Afghanistan, it needs cooperation from Pakistan for the easiest exit route and support against the ongoing war on terrorism. Pakistan resents US drone attacks and other intrusions, yet with a troubled economy, also relies on funding from the United States and the International Monetary Fund. Pakistan seeks more policy leniency, including a...