Elephants in the Room

Normalizing ties with Israel could mean removal from the U.S. state sponsors of terrorism list, allowing the country to rebuild its shattered economy—but U.S. legislators are standing in the way.

Deals with the UAE and Bahrain demonstrate the Palestinian issue is no longer a barrier to Israeli-Arab cooperation.

Trump is losing support among the troops. That’s just one reason why the military risks getting sucked into the campaign.

Trump’s friends have opted for their usual grievance politics.

Many former Republican national security officials just endorsed Biden. They will be hobbled in the fight for the party’s post-Trump future.

A Trump empowered with a second term would be a threat to the United States, especially in Asia.

As a critical vote approaches, the fate of Iran nuclear sanctions—and decades of multilateralism—lies in the hands of Britain and France.

It’s a historic achievement that eluded other presidents. Trump will try to make the most of it.

As the military balance of power shifts in China’s favor, Beijing may be increasingly tempted to act against Taiwan.

Calls for economic sanctions against Israel risk a costly collision with U.S. anti-boycott laws, as companies such as Airbnb can attest.

The invisibility and silence of Congress is another reason for America’s shocking abdication of global leadership.

Confusion over the removal of missiles and aircraft from Saudi Arabia could invite the aggression the United States is trying to avoid.

Beijing has increased pressure on its nervous neighbors in its quest to dominate the entire South China Sea.

After 17 years, there is little love left between Washington and Baghdad. Upcoming talks may be the last opportunity to save their dysfunctional partnership.

Our contributors weigh in on Bernie Sanders’s departure from the U.S. presidential race—and what it means for an election campaign overshadowed by the coronavirus.

The affair surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt lays bare the dysfunction of civilian-military relations under Trump.

Trump has finally realized the U.S. energy industry is under attack. Better late than never.

Exploiting Iran's coronavirus crisis to demand an end to sanctions is fundamentally dishonest—and panders to a brutal regime.

A bungled response in Western countries is no reason to take the heat off China. If China had a different government, the world could have been spared this terrible pandemic.

Iran is stockpiling enriched uranium and may soon receive advanced weapons from Russia. Trump has an easy way to tighten the screws.

Our experts weigh in on the first head-to-head debate between the two main remaining Democratic contenders.

The U.S. and Britain both want a trade agreement post-Brexit. China and chickens could get in the way.

European leaders are flirting with the idea of going it alone—but Washington should be willing to call their bluff.

Musical chairs in the Iraqi parliament can no longer solve the country's problems.

Republican foreign-policy experts weigh in on the most eventful debate of the 2020 primary.

Even if neither side wants war, the road ahead is hazardous.

Putting America’s annual $3.8 billion of military assistance to Israel on the chopping block makes for good politics. But it makes no sense for U.S. national security.

Ten takeaways from the biggest civil-military crisis (so far) of the Trump administration.

Neither Trump nor the international relations experts who cheered his choice to withdraw U.S. troops have wrestled adequately with the costs of departure.

The withdrawal from Syria is part of a broader pattern of weakness, especially in response to Iran.

When it comes to international cooperation, the White House is repeating the mistakes of the past.

Donald Trump should use the U.N. General Assembly as an opportunity to open dialogue with Mohammad Javad Zarif.

It’s finally time to breathe new life into the country’s moribund economy.

The United States and Russia can’t maintain the global system of nuclear deterrence on their own anymore.

Maximum pressure could still deliver strategic outcomes.

Even with the eyes of the world elsewhere, here’s how Trump can keep up pressure on Maduro.

The United States is not making progress in its trade war with China or in nuclear talks with North Korea.

The United States should not abandon the Sudanese in their greatest hour of need.

Seventy-five years after D-Day, the United States should remember that on-the-ground leadership still works.