I Disagree With Our War Policy. Should I Resign?
Robert Ford's resignation over the Obama administration's policy on Syria has garnered few imitators in government. Lionel Beehner asks: Is that a good thing?
View ArticleThe Myth of Obama’s Realism
Why do polls show Obama's approval on foreign policy at record lows? Hint: It's not because he is a realist, Lionel Beehner explains.
View ArticleIs Iraqi Kurdistan on the Verge of Statehood?
Iraqi Kurdistan's status as a buffer state may be its biggest attribute to eventual statehood, argues Lionel Beehner.
View ArticleIs Defeating Guerrillas Really All About Good PR?
Lionel Beehner reviews Max Boot's Invisible Armies and finds the author's theories explaining insurgents' recent success to be unconvincing.
View ArticleThe Good, Bad, and Ugly about Intervening against ISIS
ISIS has pulled off the impossible: It has gotten Obama to use force after promising to pull us out of Iraq. Lionel Beehner asks: Is that a good thing?
View ArticleFor Russia, Death by a Thousand Aid Convoys
As Russia rolls out aid convoys and the same R2P rhetoric it did before its 2008 invasion of Georgia, Lionel Beehner warns that the West must be clear in its support for Kiev.
View ArticleWould Cicero Approve of Putin’s War in Ukraine?
It's doubtful Cicero would agree that Putin's incursion into Ukraine constitutes a "just war," argues Lionel Beehner. But there are commonalities between the Roman Empire and Putin's Russia.
View ArticleIt Takes A Massacre to Save a Village
Lionel Beehner ponders the inconsistent and indifferent reaction of the American public to massacres, genocide, and mass violence in places like Syria and Iraq and closer to home in Newtown, Aurora,...
View ArticleWe Still Need to Defeat Assad, Not Just ISIS
Lionel Beehner argues we should not partner with Assad to defeat ISIS. That is a recipe for regional instability.
View ArticleOn Food, Wine, and War
Lionel Beehner explores whether good cuisine correlates with perpetual conflict in the world’s hotspots.
View ArticleThe Case for Arming Rebels
The CIA study commissioned by Obama that found that "arming rebels" is ineffective should be questioned, especially as it pertains to our inaction in Syria, argues Lionel Beehner.
View ArticleThe Case for Coalitions of the Unwilling
Lionel Beehner argues that an alliance of strange bedfellows against groups like ISIS may actually be helpful in the long-term to prevent countries from shirking or contributing only token support.
View ArticleOn Charlie Hebdo, United We Fall?
Lionel Beehner worries that the "Je suis Charlie" solidarity mirrors the aftermath of 9/11, which gave rise to two needless wars. Maybe to prevent such hubris, we need less unity and more divisiveness.
View ArticleWhy Terrorists Do Not Need Territory
Lionel Beehner debunks the myth that territorial safe havens are necessary for terrorists to plan and carry out attacks.
View ArticleFool Me Twice, Shame on Minsk
Lionel Beehner asks why we take the military solution off the table when it comes to countries like Russia, but turn to it first when it comes to groups such as ISIS.
View ArticleCan A ‘Freeze’ Work in Syria?
Lionel Beehner looks at whether a "freeze" can work in Syria. The empirical evidence paints a bleak picture.
View ArticleTsar of Tsars
Dictatorships are alive and well. As Putin's Russia demonstrates, their banality has changed remarkably little over the ages, writes Lionel Beehner.
View ArticlePresident Obama’s Failed Africa Policy
Lionel Beehner on America's 'Holiday from History' in Africa under President Obama.
View ArticleReports of Assad’s (Pending) Demise May be Greatly Exaggerated
It is a welcome sign that the rebels are making advances in Syria's north. But the U.S., together with its Arab allies, should do more to prevent such gains from being reversed, argues Lionel Beehner.
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