President Trump Faces Two Major Issues in the Middle East <br><i>The future of Gaza is not one of them</i>

President Donald Trump has enhanced his reputation for unpredictability in foreign policy with his novel suggestion, at a joint press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that the people currently living in the Gaza Strip be evacuated and that the United States assume control of that territory and rebuild it. The president is surely […]
Beware Trump’s Wrath Over a Failed Ceasefire Agreement in Gaza

This week’s release of three Israeli female hostages and 900 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, primarily women and children, is the first step in what is expected to be a long process of bringing home Israel’s hostages and ending the war with Hamas. The agreement provides for three phases, the first two of which involve more […]
Trump Administration Faces a Suddenly Promising Middle East

BACKGROUND The second Trump administration will face immediate foreign policy dilemmas in all three Eurasian fronts. This paper concentrates on the Middle East, but the competing demands of Europe and East Asia, and the links among all of them, influence decisions everywhere. The dramatic events of the past year open the door to a regional […]
Rethinking America’s Ukraine Policy

Kicking the can down the road has characterized America’s Ukraine policy for the last two decades. The can is about to stop at the doorstep of incoming President Donald Trump. The assumptions that have guided US policy, crafted under far different geopolitical and geoeconomic circumstances, are simply no longer valid. The new Trump national security […]
The Impact of Trump’s Election on The Middle East

The landslide election of Donald Trump’s holds out real promise of encouraging peace in the Middle East. Unlike President Biden, who demanded caution from Israel in exchange for providing arms, Trump seems to be sending a message that he will support Israel’s policy of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if that requires military […]
Going on Offense, Designating the Muslim Brotherhood

“Dad, open your WhatsApp and see the [photos of] dead Jews. Your son has killed Jews.” “God bless you.” “Dad, I’m calling you from the phone of a Jew! I just killed her and her husband, with my own hands.” – Intercepted cellphone call, October 7, from Hamas elite unit member One unanswered question is […]
What to Expect from a Harris Administration on Israel-Palestine and the Middle East

Should she beat Donald Trump in this November’s election, Kamala Harris would come into office with more foreign policy experience than most presidents. As vice president, she made 17 foreign trips, giving a high-profile speech at the Munich Security Conference and leading the US delegation to the 2023 climate summit in Dubai. She has met […]
Higher Education and American National Security

Higher education has become a national security risk, for the present and for the long term: this is the lesson of the aftermath of October 7 on campus. Contemporary great power competition is taking place in many arenas, especially in the dimension of technological innovation. Leading research universities play a vital role in this race. […]
Mr. Netanyahu Goes to Washington

The practice of inviting foreign leaders to address Congress goes back to 1824 with Revolutionary War hero the Marquis de Lafayette. But the person most frequently honored with such an invitation, four times to date, is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On July 24, he spoke to a joint session of the House and Senate […]
Freedom is the Surest Path to Prosperity

The Global South has a choice between a freedom-based and an authoritarian development model. External powers led by China and Russia promote the latter in, for example, Sub-Saharan Africa, by far the least developed region of the world.