Articles

How Congress should grade the Space Force doctrine

May 19, 2020 Peter Garretson The Hill

Earlier this Spring, the leadership of the U.S. Space Force, the country’s newest military branch, announced that it plans to roll out a new doctrine in the near future. But what that doctrine will look like remains to be seen — and Congress, which will be the ultimate arbiter of the document and the vision it contains, needs to ensure that the country gets it right.

How Trump’s Constant Attacks on China over Coronavirus Won’t Help

May 15, 2020 Devin T. Stewart Joshua Eisenman The National Interest

Rather than sing the same sad song about the source of the coronavirus, the United States needs to lead a choir of nations in a hymn about how this pandemic, like SARS before it, was made possible by the lack of transparency intrinsic to China’s national socialist political system. It is only through collaboration among democracies can the United States seize the day and create what the world desperately needs: a muscular coalition of like-minded nations that will prevail in this crisis, as well as secure the future of free markets and liberal values in its aftermath.

Saudi TV series speaks volumes about regional dynamics

May 13, 2020 Lawrence J. Haas The Hill

During the holy month of Ramadan, now underway, when TV viewership among Muslims traditionally skyrockets, Saudi Arabia’s MBC network is airing a series about Jewish families in a fictional Arab country in the late 1940s — a series that speaks volumes about what’s changing, and what isn’t, across the region.

What Russia is up to in Syria

May 4, 2020 Lamont Colucci The Hill

Although the world has ground to a near-standstill as a result of COVID-19, America’s foreign policy problems have not disappeared...Russia’s recent machinations in Syria are a case in point.

How Morocco Is Managing The Pandemic

April 24, 2020 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

[T]he Kingdom of Morocco has been particularly hard hit. It currently ranks second only to Egypt in the number of active North African COVID-19 cases, and by itself represents more than 13 percent of all infections on the continent. Yet the Moroccan government has nonetheless managed to parlay its fight against the coronavirus into a source of national unity – and, increasingly, into one of regional prestige as well.

Iran’s Coronavirus Coverup

April 7, 2020 Ilan I. Berman Radio Farda

Just how sick is Iran, really? As the coronavirus swept across the world throughout the month of March, the Islamic Republic quickly emerged as one of the key global hotspots for the disease

In Iran, an Electoral Flop

February 26, 2020 Ilan I. Berman National Review

What if you held a national election and no one turned out? That’s the situation currently confronting Iranian officials, who are grappling with the aftermath of a truly disastrous outcome in last week’s parliamentary elections.

How The Revolutionary Guards Could Reshape Iran

February 24, 2020 Ilan I. Berman The National Interest

Iran’s clerical army could decide that an internal transition is the best answer, and move to remove (or at least subordinate) the country’s current clerical elite. Such a step, after all, would allow the IRGC to preserve its current, extensive grip on national power while simultaneously working to alleviate economic pressure from the U.S. and reintegrate into the international community.

The Risks Of Sino-Saudi Partnership

February 20, 2020 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

What does Riyadh really think about China? It was one of the questions on my mind last week, when I led a research delegation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Trump’s Plan Forces Palestinian Choices

January 31, 2020 Ilan I. Berman Al-Hurra Digital

It's your move, Mahmoud Abbas. That's the basic message behind the Trump administration's long-awaited "deal of the century," which was unveiled publicly on Tuesday at a joint press conference between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Washington needs to anticipate Iran’s next provocation

January 30, 2020 Lawrence J. Haas The Hill

Signs are mounting that in Tehran, which faces rising pressures at home and abroad, the country’s powerful hardline conservatives are circling the wagons, raising the odds of still more Iranian global provocations. The question is whether Washington — which continues to tighten the economic screws on Tehran — is ready for what might come next.

How Demographics Could Spark Change in Iran

January 25, 2020 Ilan I. Berman The National Interest

For years, Iran’s ruling ayatollahs have grappled with a profoundly vexing problem: how best to maintain the loyalty of the country’s growing (and increasingly unruly) population. The question isn’t strictly a political one. It is also made significantly more complicated by the age of the Islamic Republic’s population, which cuts against the regime in key ways.

The Real Start Of “Maximum Pressure” Against Iran

January 3, 2020 Ilan I. Berman The National Interest

The targeting of Soleimani – which followed on the heels of U.S. military strikes on multiple facilities in Iraq operated by Kataib Hezbollah, a key Iranian regional proxy – has ushered in a qualitatively new phase in the Trump administration’s confrontation with Iran. Chances are, it will be one punctuated by heightened hostilities