Ivan Eland

In addition to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, yet another U.S. military intervention is in shambles:  the US drone war against al Qaeda’s most potent regional affiliate – al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).  Heretofore, despite the rise of the perhaps even more brutal Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), mainly a threat to … Continue reading “Yemen: Another Failed US Military Intervention”

Although some important issues still need to be clarified in the final agreement, President Obama should be congratulated for getting a better-than-expected framework agreement restricting Iran’s nuclear program.  Obama is right that negotiation is the only game in town.  Even the Israelis and hawkish Republicans have quit pushing nonviable military options as much, but offer … Continue reading “Obama’s Nuclear Agreement Is a Good One, But Issues Remain”

Unfortunately, in the 24/7/365 media age, fearmongering has never been easier. The around the clock cable news coverage of an extremely rare event – a co-pilot’s alleged mass murder of passengers aboard one of 40 million flights worldwide annually – is a case in point. But the cynical use of fear happens with more mundane … Continue reading “Some Form of Formal Partitioning Is Still the Answer for Iraq”

In the wake of the global recession, beginning with the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the British government of Prime Minister David Cameron took a different approach from the U.S. governments of George W. Bush and Barack Obama – eschewing massive government stimuli (that is, profligate spending) for the economy and instead focusing on moderate belt … Continue reading “The US Should Learn From Its British Ally”

Although the controversy surrounding the misleading open letter by 47 Republican U.S. senators to Iran – an attempt to sabotage the Obama administration’s possible agreement with that nation limiting its nuclear program – has broken down along party lines, the senators did violate at least the spirit of the United States Constitution by undertaking this … Continue reading “Republicans’ Letter to Iran Violates the Spirit of the Constitution”

The Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram pledging allegiance, at least in theory, to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) should lead to a comparison of efforts in the Middle East and Western Africa regions to fight these threats. Boko Haram and ISIS are some of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world … Continue reading “Allies Against Islamism Can Learn From West Africa”

With all of the public sniping back-and-forth between American President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Netanyahu’s circumvention of standard protocol for a visiting head of state to speak before Congress, watching or listening to the American media, one would think that the U.S.-Israeli relationship was about to break apart. Of course, … Continue reading “Israel Needs Some Tough Love”

The Islamist terrorists are winning and the U.S. government is helping them! Barack Obama just finished a three-day White House conference on countering "violent extremism" but did not want the event excessively focused on law enforcement. Meanwhile, after a masked man from al Shabab, Somalia’s al Qaeda affiliate, threatened the Mall of America in Minneapolis, … Continue reading “The US Government Is Making the Problem of Islamist Extremism Worse”

Barack Obama, after six months of fighting against the brutal group ISIS, has finally decided to ask for congressional approval of his war. He, like the Bushes before him, maintained that he already had the authority to go to war but only asked for Congress’s permission out of courtesy. And despite their often blind hatred … Continue reading “The President’s Excessive War Power”

As the American cable news entertainment channels focus on the artificial "American Sniper" controversy, the Obama administration’s issuance of its second and final national security strategy (the last one was done in 2010) was buried deep in the back pages of the newspapers. Unfortunately, most Americans don’t choose to know much about U.S. foreign policy … Continue reading “America Needs a More Restrained National Security Strategy”