Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Explore the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s latest insights, commentary, articles, media hits, and in-depth reports

All commentary & analysis

Art of Future Warfare

Dec 1, 2018

Diverse perspectives are Key to innovative thinking

By John Watts

The outcomes of this design workshop were used to help military designers think about the different ways technology will change our society, and how that will impact the way that capabilities will be employed and how we humans will expect to interact with both them and with each other.

Security & Defense Technology & Innovation

IranSource

Nov 30, 2018

After Iraq, Iran Chemical Weapons Allegation Met With Skepticism

By Borzou Daragahi

If there were any doubts that the United States under President Donald Trump was trying to pick a fight with Iran over anything—that Washington had no real agenda with its belligerent anti-Iran rhetoric and moves other than just flicking mud at the country and its rulers in hopes that something would stick—they were dispelled on […]

Iran

Report

Nov 29, 2018

NATO priorities after the Brussels summit

By Franklin D. Kramer, Hans Binnendijk, Lauren M. Speranza

In Brussels, allies committed not only to increased spending to meet the NATO 2-percent pledge, but to important improvements in readiness and reinforcement for air, land, and naval forces. They also agreed to adopt an increased focus on the challenges of cyber and hybrid conflict. The commitments are comprehensive, but the results of these decisions will depend on effective implementation. This paper sets forth a policy and programmatic framework for that implementation, proposing four sets of actions that NATO should undertake.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

IranSource

Nov 29, 2018

Impeaching the Foreign Minister Won’t Solve Iran’s Woes

By Holly Dagres

Iran’s US-educated Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has always had enemies within the Iranian establishment. When Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was imprisoned during the 2009 post-election protests known as the Green Movement, his interrogators demanded not only that he admit to being a CIA agent but that Zarif—who had been sidelined by then hardline President […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2018

Trump-Xi meeting at the G20: An opportunity to calm a trade war

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The worst case is if Trump insists on more tariffs. The US trade deficit is higher than ever and the reason is the dollar is stronger than it has been in a long time. That is one of the fundamentals determining trade deficits. Trump thinks it is all bad trade deals.

China G20

In the News

Nov 27, 2018

Manning Quoted in VOA on US Granting Sanctions Exemption Request by South Korea

By Robert A. Manning

Read the full article here.

In the News

Nov 27, 2018

Metzl Joins Bloomberg Radio to Discuss G20

By Jamie Metzl

Listen to the full discussion here.

In the News

Nov 27, 2018

Vershbow Joins MSNBC to Discuss Russia Escalating Tensions With Ukraine

By Alexander Vershbow

Watch the full discussion here.

In the News

Nov 27, 2018

Lightfoot Quoted in Vox on Protests in France

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Read the full article here.

France

IranSource

Nov 20, 2018

How Rouhani Can Use the Industry Sector to Help Iran’s Economy

By Navid Kalhor

With four new ministers in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet to help salvage the Iranian economy, it’s too soon to see the genuine impact just yet. But what is evident is that the new economic measures, if any, should focus on improving the ease of doing business in the wake of reimposed US sanctions. Having that […]

Economy & Business Iran

IranSource

Nov 15, 2018

Demanding Iran’s Withdrawal From Syria Doesn’t Make Sense

By Albert B. Wolf

“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” National Security Advisor John Bolton said on September 24. Similar rhetoric was followed by James Jeffery, the State Department’s special representative for Syria, on September 30. Then on October 27, Brett McGurk, US Special […]

Iran Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 14, 2018

Trump should not let North Korea missile report get to him

By Todd Rosenblum

This week’s public exposure of more missile sites further erodes belief in North Korea’s intent to shift strategically from guns to butter and makes its public declarations of good intent even less believable. Even though negotiators may have been aware of these sites for some time, public opinion matters.

Korea Nuclear Nonproliferation

IranSource

Nov 13, 2018

Iranian Women Demanded ‘Open Stadiums’ for a Long Time

By Open Stadiums

In a country where football was traditionally seen as a man’s sport, I was a passionate football fan. For Iranians, it was considered not just strange but taboo that a young Iranian girl be into football the way I was while growing up. It hurt whenever people mocked me, “Girls know nothing about football, they […]

Iran

In the News

Nov 13, 2018

Manning Quoted in VOA on Abrupt Cancellation of US-N. Korea Meeting

By Robert A. Manning

Read the full article here.

Korea

In the News

Nov 12, 2018

Metzl Joins CNN to Discuss Singles Day and China’s Economy

By Jamie Metzl

Watch the full discussion here.

China

New Atlanticist

Nov 12, 2018

Remembering the Moral Purpose of War

By Paul D. Miller

If the Great War teaches us anything, it is that wars must be fought for a morally-defensible purpose—or not fought at all—and that once a war is won, its moral purpose must continue to animate our postwar efforts to build peace.

Conflict National Security

In the News

Nov 8, 2018

Manning in YaleGlobal: The Global Impact of US Midterms

By Robert A. Manning

Read the full article here.

In the News

Nov 8, 2018

Joyner in War on the Rocks: Does the U.S. Military Really Need More Strategists?

By James Joyner

Read the full article here.

In the News

Nov 8, 2018

Jones in The Hill: Support Marine’s Families, not Iran’s Terror-sponsors

By James L. Jones, Jr.

Read the full article here.

In the News

Nov 7, 2018

Manning Quoted in VOA on United States Rallying Southeast Asian Countries to Continue Maximum Pressure Campaign Against North Korea

By Robert A. Manning

Read the full article here.

Indo-Pacific
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