The propagandists of the Islamic State must have imagined that their brutal video of the beheading of journalist James Foley would intimidate and terrorize the world. But people aren’t built that way, not in Muslim countries or anywhere else. When they see sadistic, uncivilized behavior, they are disgusted – and angry. President Barack Obama spoke… اقرأ المزيد
The world has been so chaotic lately that it was easy to overlook two U.S. diplomatic maneuvers – involving the turbulent nations of Afghanistan and Iran – that avoided what could have been dangerous ruptures. The architect of these two agreements was Secretary of State John Kerry, who these days seems to be in constant… اقرأ المزيد
Given recent German indignation about the National Security Agency, it has been easy to overlook the fact that for decades the German government has cooperated extensively with the NSA on surveillance activities. But after a high-level meeting in Berlin this week, this long-standing but veiled cooperation may have a firmer legal and political base.The two… اقرأ المزيد
Energy politics underlie the explosive Ukraine crisis, as Europeans weigh U.S. calls for tougher sanctions against the ability of Russia to disrupt gas supplies this winter. The dilemma for European governments increased this week, as the Obama administration announced strong new penalties against the Russian energy and financial sectors. Europe’s initial response was tepid, in… اقرأ المزيد
In President Barack Obama’s sometimes maddeningly cautious foreign policy, you can see him struggling to answer what may be the hardest question of his presidency: How should the United States project power in a disorderly world without making the same mistakes it did in Iraq and Afghanistan? Obama, whose deliberative approach often resembles that of… اقرأ المزيد
As American policymakers ponder the future shape of the Mideast, they should perhaps recall that the United States was opposed to the 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement, the famous “line in the sand” that is now said to be dissolving. American’s opposition back then was based on its rejection of the secret diplomacy between Britain and France… اقرأ المزيد