FOREIGN POLICY

Biden Could Midwife a New Iraq

2021-07-07

On June 17, after almost a decade of trying, the U.S. House of Representatives voted by a substantial bipartisan margin to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force , which permitted the invasion of Iraq, the ouster of Saddam Hussein...

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With Scenes of Police Brutality, America’s Beacon to the World Winks Out

2020-06-02

U.S. soft power was already dwindling under Trump. But the new wave of police violence and racial injustice may be drying up the reserves.

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The Death of Lebanon’s Middle Class

2020-05-23

A country with a proud history of trade and commerce is starting to crumble into permanent poverty.

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As Coronavirus Spreads, Iranian Doctors Fear the Worst

2020-03-11

Irans political and economic isolation has not stopped COVID-19—but sanctions are threatening to turn an outbreak into a catastrophe.

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The U.S. Government Is Vulnerable to Virus Chaos

2020-03-06

Reshaping institutions and funding can help save lives.

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Don’t Hold Your Breath for Democratic Change in the Middle East

2020-01-05

The region is accustomed to cycles of protest and political upheaval, so it’s better not to bank on successful revolutions.

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For Uighur Muslims in China, Life Keeps Getting Harder

2019-10-28

Concentration camps, surveillance, and spies keep the community under tight control.

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Iran Is Losing the Middle East, Protests in Lebanon and Iraq Show

2019-10-26

Tehran may be good at winning influence, but it is bad at ruling after that.

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The Real Reason Trump Won’t Attack Iran

2019-09-19

Starting a war to protect oil markets will only backfire.

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Trump Team Debates Response to Strikes on Saudi Oil

2019-09-18

Pentagon is cautious as Riyadh requests additional U.S. forces.

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U.S. Senate Targets Saudi Nuclear Technology

2019-08-01

The bipartisan bill follows the revelation that a longtime Trump advisor was pushing for lucrative nuclear deals with Riyadh.

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Iraq Prepares to Evict U.S. Troops

2019-03-22

Pro-Iran factions are pushing for the move just as the Islamic State is starting to hit back.

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The Dark Web Enabled the Christchurch Killer

2019-03-18

The attack in New Zealand was inspired in part by the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, but the real threat is lone wolves lurking in the far corners of the Internet.

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Don’t Get Your Hopes Up About Algeria

2019-03-18

The Middle East’s latest protests seem like the Arab Spring all over again. That’s no reason for optimism.

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The Inspiration for Terrorism in New Zealand Came From France

2019-03-16

The gunman who massacred Muslims was inspired by ideas that have circulated for decades on the French far-right.

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From Rogue to Regular

2019-02-13

What will it take for Washington to accept Iran as a “normal” state

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Iraq’s Prime Minister Faces Old Challenges to Deliver on Reform

2019-02-06

In his first hundred days on the job, Adel Abdul Mahdi has hit entrenched political roadblocks to choosing cabinet ministers and changing a system of political patronage.

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Riyalpolitik and the Art of Influence in Trump’s Washington

2018-06-07

Americas Arab allies have always wanted to buy direct access to U.S. foreign policy, and they finally found a seller.

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Iraq’s Top 10 Potential Prime Ministers

2018-05-23

Will it be the Harvard- and MIT-educated mandarin, the coveralls-wearing man of the people — or someone else the world has never heard of?

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Why Democracy Doesn’t Deliver

2018-04-28

Endless elections, unqualified leaders, uninformed voters, and short-term thinking are impeding economic growth.

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Trump Can’t Afford to Forget About Iraq

2018-04-06

Having won the war, will the United States end up yet again squandering the peace?

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Russia Is in the Middle East to Stay

2018-04-02

Here is what the United States should do about it.

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Welcome to Syria 2.0

2018-01-29

Civil war is over and an entirely new one has started, with the United States at the center of it

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The Lost Children of ISIS

2018-01-03

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov says he wants to rescue orphans. But what is really behind his humanitarian campaign?

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