Articles

Kerry Needs to Come to His ‘Senses’

July 28, 2014 Lawrence J. Haas U.S. News & World Report

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I was struck by your recent observation about the Israel-Hamas conflict: “The world is watching tragic moment after tragic moment unfold and wondering when both sides are going to come to their senses.”

I can only imagine your dismay, in light of the hopes that President Obama and you had placed in Israeli-Palestinian peace, and all of your jet-setting, tongue-flapping and arm-twisting to make it happen. To encourage both sides to come to their “senses,” however, I suggest that not only do they have important roles to play. So, too, do you.

The Great War, Again?

July 24, 2014 Ilan I. Berman U.S. News & World Report

It was a century ago this summer – on June 28, 1914 – that Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip fired the "shot heard round the world," assassinating Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire, in Sarajevo. The killing served as a catalyst for conflict, bringing long-simmering tensions between various European nations to a boil. The result was a conflagration that was both global in scale and massive in its human toll. All told, more than 37 million souls perished in what became known as the "war to end all wars."

An Iranian-Turkish Reset

July 21, 2014 Ilan I. Berman Washingon Times

Earlier this summer, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani paid a very public two-day visit to a surprising locale: Ankara, Turkey. The June trip — the first of its kind in nearly 20 years — represented a significant evolution of the political ties between Iran and Turkey.

Iran Won’t Slow Down On Ballistic Missiles

July 17, 2014 Ilan I. Berman USA Today

With time for nuclear diplomacy between Iran and the P5+1 nations (the U.S., UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) running out, and with the White House scrambling to cobble together some sort of deal with Tehran, it's perhaps not surprising that Pentagon's latest annual assessment of Iran's military capabilities has so far garnered little attention, either within the Washington Beltway or outside it.