Argument
An expert’s point of view on a current event.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks over his glasses as he and Education Minister Gidon Saar chat at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting October 18, 2009 in Jerusalem. Bibi Is No Houdini
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a political magician who has run out of tricks—and his stubbornness is stopping the Israeli right from winning convincingly and governing the country.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin looks up at Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires on Nov. 30, 2018. Why This Oil Crash Is Different
The oil price collapse has sent shockwaves through financial markets. But the geopolitical earthquake could reach even farther.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a White House press conference on the COVID-19 outbreak on Feb. 26. Truth Has Become a Coronavirus Casualty
From Beijing to Washington, governments have been muzzling scientists, inflating the success of their containment efforts, and discrediting valid reporting. Citizens have to fight back.
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German Chancellor and leader of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel chats with her colleague Armin Laschet, governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, at a meeting of the CDU leadership on Nov. 27, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. You May Miss Merkel More Than You Think
The lame-duck German chancellor has become a problem for the world. The frontrunner to take over will probably be even worse.
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Virginia Flores shows a picture of Camila Díaz Córdova as she waits outside the Attorney General's office in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Feb. 23, 2019. El Salvador’s Justice System Takes on a Historic Case
Transgender rights activists say the prosecution of Camila Díaz Córdova’s death as a hate crime is an advance, although LGBTQ citizens continue to face discrimination and abuse.
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Children play in front of a house destroyed by Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, on March 27, 2019. Mozambique Is a Failed State. The West Isn’t Helping It.
Donor countries and international organizations are propping up a corrupt government rather than criticizing it—leaving millions of Mozambicans mired in poverty.
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A group of 11 defendants charged with spreading pornography in China in 2005. No Porn for Chinese Stuck Under Virus Lockdown
Internet controls have proved even more restrictive as Chinese life moves online under quarantine.
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A French soldier, part of the international coalition against the Islamic State, stands guard near Al-Qaim in western Iraq on Feb. 9, 2019. Big Ideas for NATO’s New Mission in Iraq
Sharing the burden of keeping down the Islamic State makes sense. But U.S. and NATO leaders should be coldly realistic about what European allies can do—and avoid their mistakes in Afghanistan.
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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani greets Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Iran May Be Eyeing the United States’ Soft Underbelly
When Iran takes revenge for the killing of Qassem Suleimani, history suggests it could happen in Latin America.
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Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak (L), and U.S. Defense Secretary (R) Leon Panetta walk to the podium to speak to the media at a joint press conference while they visit the Iron Dome defense system launch site on August 1, 2012 in Ashkelon, Israel. Annexation Would Threaten U.S. Military Support for Israel
Netanyahu's planned land grab in the West Bank will undermine bipartisan support for U.S.-Israel defense ties—endangering the special relationship and Israelis’ security.
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Bats are trapped in nets to be examined for possible viruses in Gabon. The Coronavirus Is Not Mother Nature’s Revenge
Ideas about natural and unnatural behavior causing disaster are simple, easy—and wrong.
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Protesters burn an effigy of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah during a protest demanding his resignation. Modi’s India Is Racing to a Point of No Return
Indian culture may be ancient, but its unity is rare and recent. A growing hostility to Muslims threatens to upend the world’s largest democracy.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu point to a map of the Jordan Valley as he gives a speech in Ramat Gan on Sept. 10, 2019. A Netanyahu Victory Would Be Bad News for Peace and the Rule of Law
If he leads the next government, the prime minister is likely to annex much of the West Bank and deepen attacks on judicial independence.
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Riot police clashes with migrants outside of a refugee camp in Diavata, a west suburb of Thessaloniki on April 4, 2019. Europe’s Morality Is Dying at the Greek Border
The EU refused to prepare for a predictable rekindling of the migration crisis—and is now responding with deadly force.
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Syrians displaced by the war gather in Idlib Turkey Is Forcing the West to Look at Idlib
Ankara’s cynical border move gives the European Union the opportunity to redress its past mistakes in Syria.
