National Security

Al Qaeda Affiliate Gets Out of the Way in Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Nusra Front’s decision to leave frontlines against ISIS facilitates a US-Turkish agreement on a safe zone in northern Syria, says Atlantic Council’s Faysal Itani By deciding to quit frontline positions against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in northern Syria, al Qaeda-affiliate Nusra Front has made a US-Turkish agreement on establishing a safe […]

Is Turkey’s War on PKK Hurting US Alliance Against ISIS?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Francis J. Ricciardone says Turkey is making a distinction between Kurdish groups in Iraq and Syria The US-Turkish alliance against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) complicates but need not impede, and might even ease,  the United States’ military partnership with a Syria-based Kurdish group that has been instrumental in the […]

Correcting Obama’s Iran speech

By Matthew Kroenig

Like much political rhetoric, President Barack Obama’s speech in defense of the Iran nuclear deal at American University August 5 contained trenchant insights, but also falsehoods and half-truths. This blog post aims to correct several of the speech’s most erroneous claims. 1. Obama admits the deal doesn’t solve many problems, but he maintains that it […]

Obama Gives Passionate Defense of Iran Nuclear Deal

By Barbara Slavin

When President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize shortly after taking office in 2009, he was the first to admit that the honor was premature. Compared to historical giants like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela, Obama told the Nobel committee, his own accomplishments had been “slight.”  But as the first US […]

Defending the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iran bound ‘in perpetuity’ not to build a nuclear bomb, says Obama administration official Iran is not permitted to build a nuclear weapon after the duration of the agreement reached in Vienna this week, nor does the deal give the Islamic Republic a “signing bonus” in terms of immediate sanctions relief, a senior Obama administration […]

The Iran nuclear deal is not in the US national interest

By Matthew Kroenig

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed July 14 between Iran and the P5+1 puts verifiable limits on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Assuming Tehran abides by the terms of the accord, Iran will not be able to build nuclear weapons for the lifetime of the deal, but the agreement presents […]

The Middle East Transformed by Iran Agreement? Take a Deep Breath; Here’s Why Not

By Richard LeBaron

The reactions to the nuclear agreement with Iran announced July 14 were utterly predictable. Those against the agreement yesterday are those against the agreement today. Those for it are still for it. The Obama administration will fight for its approval by Congress and the Netanyahu administration will fight against it. Republican presidential hopefuls are all […]

An Opportunity to Discuss Iran’s Support for al-Assad

The nuclear deal reached July 14 between Iran and the so-called P5+1—the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany—presents an opportunity for the Obama administration and its partners to address Iran’s support for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, writes Frederic C. Hof, a Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for […]

Here’s What You Need to Know About Lindsey Graham’s Foreign Policy Agenda

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Republican presidential hopeful wants more US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, would reject a ‘bad’ nuclear deal with Iran Republican presidential candidate Sen. Lindsey Graham laid out an interventionist foreign policy in a July 8 address that was peppered with blistering critiques of President Barack Obama as well as some fellow Republicans and tough talk […]