Articles

The Iran War Is A Crisis. It’s Also A Catalyst

October 13, 2026 Ilan I. Berman

Some seven months into the Trump administration’s war on Iran, it has become fashionable for much of the media to depict the conflict as a stalemate – one in which the Trump administration is drifting inexorably toward compromise with Iran’s new, military-dominated regime.

Japan’s Shrinking Population Is Changing How It Fights

September 22, 2026 Ilan I. Berman Forbes

Last month, Japan released its latest annual defense white paper. The document has a great deal to say about the threats now confronting the island nation, ranging from an increasingly assertive China to a nuclear North Korea. But one of its most important themes concerns something else entirely: the changing nature of warfare itself.

Why Diplomacy with Russia Isn’t Working

September 18, 2026 Lawrence J. Haas The National Interest

"President Putin, thank you so much for having us,” U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff gushed recently in Moscow, where he and fellow U.S. Special Envoy Jared Kushner sought to coax Putin into making peace with Ukraine by offering more economic cooperation and the lifting of sanctions. “When we retire,” Witkoff added, “we’ll have all these incredible stories and memories, and yours will be right at the top of it all.”

Putin’s Finale and Beyond

September 16, 2026 S. Frederick Starr The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune

On February 24 Vladimir Putin began the fifth year of his disastrous war against Ukraine. It has sacrificed a million men killed or wounded in order to gain a fragile hold on only a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.