State of Failure
Trump ignored Clausewitz, and disaster ensued.
Brian Stewart
· 10 min read
Middle East
A collection of 113 posts
Perceptions of Weakness
In his panic-stricken effort to disentangle America from the Middle Eastern mess, Trump now appears to be falling into line with Tehran’s wishes.
Benny Morris
· 13 min read
Four Inconvenient Truths About the Conflict in Lebanon
Western political will and good intentions are no match for a complex reality rife with conflicting interests and ideologies.
Eric Bordenkircher
· 9 min read
The Enemy Within
Iran is not Saudi Arabia’s biggest problem.
Chama Mechtaly
· 13 min read
An Electoral Reckoning at Last?
Benjamin Netanyahu’s unprecedented tenure as Israeli prime minister may be about to end.
Benny Morris
· 9 min read
What Is the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor?
Creating NGOs that misuse the language of human rights is an effective strategy for advancing terrorist goals.
Gerald M. Steinberg
· 12 min read
The Ballad of East and West
In a fascinating new book, historian Anthony Bale vividly reconstructs the brutal, fantastical, and sometimes deeply religious experiences of medieval travellers across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Benny Morris
· 13 min read
This Is Not the 1970s
Amid the great uncertainties produced by the Iran War, some likelihoods have begun to emerge.
Milton Ezrati
· 5 min read
The Wrong Man
In Iran, Donald Trump is showing us what a populist war looks like.
Michael J. Totten
· 11 min read
Podcast #332: The Historical Case for Israel
In a new book, US District Court Judge Roy Altman traces Jews’ indigenous presence in the holy land over the last 3,231 years.
Quillette
· 3 min read
The Axis of Renewal
Israel and the United States have already done much to dismantle the Axis of Resistance, but the broader network supported by Iran remains most active in Western Europe.
Aurele Tobelem
· 11 min read
The First Post-Ideological Bedouin State
Why the misunderstood sovereign UAE thrives, and why ideologues—from the Islamic Republic to the Muslim Brotherhood—are invested in its demise.
Chama Mechtaly
· 11 min read
Trump, Tehran, and the China Calculus
The CCP will certainly take advantage should Iran turn into a major distraction for the US.
Aaron Sarin
· 7 min read
Iran’s Revolutionary Regime and the Long War Against the West: Behnam Ben Taleblu
Behnam Ben Taleblu discusses the history of Iran’s Islamic Republic, the evolution of protest movements, and the geopolitical stakes of the current conflict.
Pamela Paresky
· 41 min read
A Paradoxical War
The American debate about the campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Jeffrey Herf
· 19 min read