Publications

A Stalled War On Terror Finance

July 14, 2014 Avi Jorisch The Journal of International Security Affairs

Only two weeks after the attacks of September 11th, President George W. Bush addressed the media in the White House Rose Garden and declared "war" on terrorism financing. "Money is the lifeblood of terrorist operations," he told reporters.[1] "Today, we are asking the world to stop payment." A few weeks later, the Treasury Department—the agency that would become the weapon of choice of the White House in this new economic conflict—boasted in a press release, "The same talent pool and expertise that brought down Al Capone will now be dedicated to investigating Usama bin Laden and his terrorist network."[2]

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 325

July 13, 2014

Israeli offensive against Hamas escalates;

Major oil field reopens in Libya;

Houthis seize major city in Yemen;

Indo-Israeli defense cooperation rises;

Islamic state responsible for Baghdad bombings  

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 324

July 6, 2014

Isil declares Islamic state;

Armed U.S. drones to fly over Baghdad;

Bodies of kidnapped Israelis found;

Kurds move toward independence;

Turkey and Israel mixed on Kurdish independence  

 

Wanted: A Real War Of Ideas With Russia

July 2, 2014 Ilan I. Berman The National Interest

Don't look now, but Moscow is winning the media war.

Since the start of the crisis over Ukraine some four months ago, Russia has waged a massive, sustained media campaign to shape global perceptions about events taking place on the ground there. This offensive—carried out en masse via state-run outlets like Russia Today and through an onslaught of print, radio and television reports—has included everything from blatant mischaracterizations of Ukraine's political parties to outright fabrications about the extent of the pro-Russian sentiment that exists in the south and east of the country.

What Peace Process?

June 30, 2014 Lawrence J. Haas U.S. News & World Report

As the parents of three Israeli teens live their worst nightmare, their sons the latest victims of terror, the drama can now follow a well-worn path of Palestinian triumphalism, Israeli revenge and global moral blindness. It is but another teaching moment - lest anyone still needs one - about why Israeli-Palestinian peace will not come soon and why the basic assumptions behind the "peace process" are so off-base.

A Moment Of Truth For Mahmoud Abbas

June 30, 2014 Ilan I. Berman Forbes.com

Sometimes, tragedies can provide moments of clarity. The brutal deaths of teenagers Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel – whose bodies were discovered on Monday half-buried in an open field north of the city of Hebron – represent more than just a national disaster for the state of Israel. They are also an inflection point for Palestinian governance, as well as a litmus test for the true prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 323

June 23, 2014

U.S. relocates Iraqi embassy officials;

Kurds seize oil-rich Kirkuk;

Israeli teens kidnapped;

Hamas officials arrested;

Assad regains control of key coastal city;

Haftar's latest offensive against Islamists in Libya  

South Asia Security Monitor: No. 347

June 22, 2014

Pakistan finally launches major offensive;

Modi's first trip: Bhutan;

Afghan voters brave threats from Taliban;

PM Sharif calls on Karzai to seal border;

Afghan candidates promotion relations with India  

What FDR Can Teach Obama About American Leadership

June 17, 2014 Lawrence J. Haas U.S. News & World Report

The poll numbers are undeniable. Disillusioned by Afghanistan and Iraq, focused on domestic concerns, Americans increasingly want their nation to reduce its global footprint and stop trying to solve the problems of others. A cautious, poll-driven President Obama responds predictably, defining America’s global interests more narrowly and eschewing calls to address humanitarian horror, protect human rights and advance freedom far from home.

South Asia Security Monitor: No. 346

June 16, 2014

Militants target Karachi airport, first drone strike in months;

India-China FMs meet;

Five NATO members killed in friendly fire incident;

Afghan floods leave 80 dead, thousands homeless;

Indian oil looking to join Tapi pipeline  

Chaos In Syria Is Obama’s Own

June 15, 2014 Ilan I. Berman The Washington Times

It’s hard not to notice that the Obama administration’s foreign policy is on the skids. Increasingly, the critiques leveled at the administration from both left and right share a common theme: that U.S. foreign policy has become characterized by strategic drift, with serious consequences for American interests abroad.

Mistral Ship Sale to Russia Will Shipwreck EU

June 9, 2014 Stephen Blank The Moscow Times

German statesman Otto von Bismarck famously observed that Europe represented merely a geographical notion, not a unified political entity. Russia's annexation of Crimea has again validated this acerbic insight. And, amid the absence of any Western or European unity, the sale of the France's highly advanced Mistral-class warships to Russia looms large.

Adrift in the Middle East

June 9, 2014 Ilan I. Berman U.S. News & World Report

Not all that long ago, Barack Obama seemed to have big plans for the Middle East. Back in June of 2009, the president traveled to Egypt to unveil what he promised would be a “new beginning” between America and the Muslim world. In a major address at Cairo’s famed Al-Azhar University, he proposed a new, more harmonious U.S. approach toward a region that had been roiled by nearly a decade of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 322

June 8, 2014

Freed Taliban to Qatar;

Bombing in Yemen ends ceasefire;

Libya turmoil continues;

Russia opposes UN aid to Syria without Assad's consent;

Iraq: May bloodiest month in 2014

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 321

June 4, 2014

Syrian elections: Intimidation on all fronts;

Prime Minister attacked in latest violence in Libya;

Turkish-Israeli reconciliation at risk;

Syrian refugees enter Morocco;

Sisi wins in a landslide but low voter turnout  

South Asia Security Monitor: No. 345

June 1, 2014

Modi, Sharif, hold early bilateral talks;

Modi to chair nuclear command authority;

Obama visits Afghanistan - reveals post-2014 plan and more;

Pakistan Taliban splits;

Yet another horrific "

honor killing"

in Pakistan  

A volatile Middle East

May 31, 2014 Issue 11

America's Receding Strategic Footprint

Turkey's Tumultuous Future In Nato

Yemen's Fragile Stability

Regional Implications Of The War In Syria

The Strategic Logic Of Iran's Nuclear Drive

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 320

May 27, 2014

"

Libyan National Army"

attacks parliament in Tripoli;

Iraqis go to the polls;

169 Brotherhood supporters acquitted in Egypt;

Jordan to deploy forces to Syrian border;

New evidence of chem weapons use in Syria  

What Crimea Teaches Central Asia

May 26, 2014 Stephen Blank The Diplomat

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has called Russia’s invasion, occupation and annexation of the Crimean peninsula. along with its incitement of a civil war in Eastern Ukraine. a game-changer. One region where this description could possess particular resonance is Central Asia. All Central Asian governments have considerable reasons for alarm in the wake of Russia’s actions and the supine Western response. In this context, Vladimir Putin’s speech to the Duma of March 18, 2014 represented a landmine under the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all five Central Asian states with the threat of Russian military action should they somehow threaten the dignity and honor of Russians who are citizens in their states.

Rouhani’s Republic Of Fear

May 21, 2014 Ilan I. Berman National Review Online

Will the real Hassan Rouhani please stand up? Since his election last summer - and especially since the start of nuclear negotiations with the West last fall - Iran's new president has become a darling of the U.S. and European diplomatic set. The soft-spoken leader who now serves as Iran's political face is widely viewed as a "moderate" counterpoint to his firebrand predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as a guarantor of a much-sought-after nuclear deal with the West.

China And America Clash On The High Seas: The EEZ Challenge

May 21, 2014 Joshua Eisenman The National Interest

During U.S Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel's recent trip to China, China's Minister of Defense, General Chang Wanquan, warned that Beijing would make "no compromise, no concession, [and] no trading" in the fight for what he called his country's "territorial sovereignty." Chang told Hagel: "The Chinese military can assemble as soon as summoned, fight any battle, and win." The comments come amid an escalating campaign by Chinese nationalists to alter the status quo in the Western Pacific that has raised alarm in capitals across the region.

Learning The Pentagon’s Secrets For Business Success

May 20, 2014 Ilan I. Berman Forbes.com

Tucked away in a busy corner of the Pentagon is a little-known bureau known as the Office of Net Assessment. Headed by Andrew W. Marshall, the legendary nonagenarian strategist who has advised every American president since Richard Nixon, it serves as the U.S. military's in-house think tank on a broad range of foreign policy and defense issues. Its specialty, however, is a very specific discipline: the study of the different ways in which the United States can identify and exploit emerging trends in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.

Eurasia Security Watch: No. 319

May 19, 2014

Anbar offensive displays Iraqi army training inadequacies;

More Brotherhood members rounded up;

U.S.-Yemen relationship;

Discord amongst al Qaeda affiliates  

Red Line Redux

May 19, 2014 Lawrence J. Haas U.S. News & World Report

The future path of U.S.-led nuclear negotiations with Iran, which have now reached a crucial stage, may be foreshadowed in the U.S. agreement with Syria to dismantle its chemical weapons program. Any U.S.-Iranian deal-making that follows the Syrian model, however, would prove nothing more than a pyrrhic victory, leaving the Middle East more dangerous and, ultimately, the United States less secure.