
Kamala Harris Is a Soft-Power Boon for America’s Global Image
The vice presidential candidate’s foreign-policy takes are conventional, but her identity is transformational.

Trump Inherited the Drone War but Ditched Accountability
Only a single formal check remains on U.S. killings worldwide.

Trump’s Use of Sanctions Is Nothing Like Obama’s
The White House’s aggressive deployment of coercive economic tools has given rise to a growing geopolitical backlash.

Women Look to 2020 to Break the National Security Glass Ceiling
Advocacy groups see the upcoming election as an opportunity to boost the number of women in senior positions.

The Long Rise and Sudden Fall of American Diplomacy
One of Washington's most accomplished diplomats has traced how U.S. foreign policy went astray over decades—and how it can get back on track.

Lifting Sanctions Isn’t as Simple as It Sounds
Financial wars damage and disfigure economies as much as military ones. Countries ravaged by sanctions need reconstruction, too.

When Fighting Domestic Terrorism, You Get What You Pay For
The Trump administration has gutted the budget for fighting far-right extremists, making it harder to stop attacks like the Pittsburgh massacre.

The Syrian War Is Over, and America Lost
Bashar al-Assad won. It’s worth thinking about why the United States didn’t.

It Still Doesn’t Get Worse Than Afghanistan
From alienating allies to starting trade wars, Trump has made plenty of foreign-policy errors. But his biggest blunder is the one Obama handed him.

Ben Rhodes Led From Behind in Life
The Obama staffer's memoirs depict an administration that wanted to change history, but never got past managing crises.

Foreign Officials See Bush and Obama in Trump
From an international perspective, the 45th president doesn't seem like a bolt from the blue.

Donald Trump Has Unleashed the Saudi Arabia We Always Wanted — and Feared
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put the Middle East on a collision course. And the White House will own the consequences.

An Award for the Collapse of Nuclear Disarmament
ICAN isn’t the Nobel Peace Prize winner that policymakers wanted, but it’s the one they deserve.

The Myth of a ‘Better’ Iran Deal
The Obama administration didn’t botch negotiations with Tehran. And Trump isn’t going to be able to get something tougher.

China Is Using America’s Own Plan to Dominate the Future of Artificial Intelligence
The Chinese are massively investing in AI research and tech, while the Trump administration is cutting federal programs wholesale.

Give Trump a Chance in the Middle East
Bush and Obama already helped destroy the region and damage U.S. interests there. How much worse could it get?

Fine Tuning the Cuba Embargo
Providing sanctions relief to empower the Cuban people does not mean we should give up our ability to pressure the Castro regime.

Trump is Right to Reset U.S.-Cuba Policy
Reports are coming in that this Friday, in a Miami speech, President Donald Trump will unveil his revisions to former President Barack Obama’s controversial policy to normalize U.S. relations with the Castro dictatorship in Cuba. He's right to scale it back.

Trump Won’t Pay a Penny For U.N. Cholera Relief Fund in Haiti
Washington set to reject the U.N. chief’s latest appeal for money to tend to Haiti’s cholera victims.

Could ISIS Have Been Averted?
Different choices by the Obama administration could have made it harder for the Islamic State to become as powerful as it did.