The United States’ ferocious use of force against Iran has failed to secure American objectives because of a profound disconnect between our political and military leadership. As the conflict drags on, it’s becoming clearer than ever that America’s problem does not lie in its military power or operational skill, but in a military […]
The President’s Military Options Are Dangerously Limited Continue Reading >>
As the world is re-learning, national security and economics are as inextricable as a mortise and tenon in a working wooden joint. Rising fuel prices have cost the U.S. defense department over one billion dollars in the past six months. Part of the added cost is in global shipping prices.
Open Warfare: Hidden Costs Continue Reading >>
The United States is engaging in a dangerous exercise in bean-counting. The media hullabaloo over missile magazines and lengthy ship deployments is in fact a distraction from the real issue. American options to fight China, the premier power it faces, have narrowed so thoroughly as to make discussions of stockpiles
Strategy Trumps Industry Continue Reading >>
Joseph Epstein for Atlantic Council: As political commentators speculate when Saudi Arabia will normalize ties with Israel, two other candidates have emerged as potential partners to the Abraham Accords: Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Both countries currently enjoy diplomatic relations and cooperation with Israel, which makes them distinct from other Accords countries.
On December 18, the Department of Defense announced the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian, a U.S.-led, multinational force meant to restore commercial freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal against Yemen-based Houthi attacks. The operation is yet another violation of the United States’s own Middle East
America’s Incoherent Mideast Policy Continue Reading >>
Nearly two months into Israel’s ground campaign, all eyes are on the Gaza Strip. Yet divisions over Gaza point to a disconnect between U.S. policy and strategic reality. The Middle East is headed toward a major war, for which the U.S. needs a strategy well beyond Gaza. Since late November,
America Needs a Middle East Strategy Continue Reading >>
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi’s Dec. 7 visit to Moscow demonstrates the solidification of their new axis. The twin Eurasian rimland wars in Ukraine and Israel are coalescing; congressional stasis over Ukraine aid, therefore, raises the odds of an even broader Eurasian war in the next 36 months. Iran, Russia and China are the
How Washington Politics is Playing into the Hands of China, Russia and Iran Continue Reading >>
On Nov. 20, Manoto TV, a popular satellite network run by the Iranian diaspora in London and broadcast into Iran, announced that it would end its operations in January after its sponsor pulled support. The cessation of Manoto’s operation is regrettable for those who wish to see a free Iran, but the
The US is Struggling to Get Through to Iranians. Here’s How to Change That. Continue Reading >>
Responding to initial reports of an attack on the USS Carney in the Red Sea on Sunday, the Biden administration belatedly declared that the warship was not attacked; it simply shot down drones heading for an unspecific target during a series of attacks on shipping off the Yemeni coast. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, an Iranian
The Right Response to Red Sea Ship Attacks: Dismantle Iran’s Proxy Axis Continue Reading >>
On Nov. 21, the Department of Defense confirmed a fourth round of retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed proxy militias, which had attacked the U.S. 66 times during the preceding month, injuring 62 U.S military personnel. Considering the pattern of the conflict and the previous three attacks, this will not deter Tehran. The first
To Deter Iran, Biden Must Be Bold Continue Reading >>
