The ongoing effort of the United States to eradicate the Islamic State by aggressively launching airstrikes against targets that include noncombatants is causing significant harm to civilians in Iraq and Syria. Estimates of civilian deaths from airstrikes range from...
The United States of Permanent War
As the foreign policy establishment continues to grapple with the consequences of Trump’s election, U.S. officials can still agree on one thing. The United States is a nation that is waging a permanent war. In December 2016, President Obama reflected on the...
The New Exterminatory Warfare
During its final years in office, the Obama administration has devised a new form of warfare with major implications for how the U.S. government confronts its enemies. With the ability to quickly locate and eliminate potential adversaries with little to no risk to US...
North Korea’s Nuclear Ticket to Survival
In recent months, a number of U.S. officials have begun to reassess their understanding of why the North Korean government wants nuclear weapons. Rather than repeating the standard claim that the North Korean government is taking extreme measures to intimidate its...
Maintaining Influence in Afghanistan
Over the past few months, the Obama administration has renewed its efforts to strengthen its position in Afghanistan. In spite of the worsening death toll from the ongoing war, the Obama administration has made a series of new wartime commitments to ensure that the...
Perpetuating Stalemate in Syria
With no end in sight for the war in Syria, the Obama administration continues to approach the conflict in a way that is prolonging the fighting. As it pursues its stated goal of removing the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad from power, the Obama administration is...