Steven Simon is visiting professor of history at Amherst College. He served on the NSC and in the State Department in five administrations and is co-author of "The Age of Sacred Terror."
Formal normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia has been a longstanding U.S. goal. The questions, though, are how much that normalization is worth in today’s climate, what Washington should be prepared to pay for it, and what it should receive in return.
The United States’ core interests in the Persian Gulf can be protected with a smaller and more rationalized military presence, supplemented as necessary by rotational U.S. force deployments.
Unless the Israeli government prefers to take on the Biden administration at this early stage instead of trying to coordinate approaches to Iran and the nuclear deal, it would be well advised to tone down the public rhetoric and threats and focus on old-fashioned but effective quiet diplomacy with Washington.
As the legacy of September 11, 2001, fades, it is time to reassess the war on terror.
If the United States and Iran can’t find a way to climb down from the ladder of escalation they’re on, the situation with Iran will likely go from really bad to a lot worse.
There is one thing that the war avoiders and the warmongers should be able to agree on: the need to prevent an accidental or unintended conflict between the United States and Iran.
The Trump administration’s moves might be just saber-rattling, but they could easily propel the United States toward a military confrontation with Iran.
Important details need to be worked out in U.S. talks with the Taliban and the Afghan government. But even if these things cannot be agreed on, the United States should still withdraw.
The U.S. view of Russia’s role in the region varies with perceptions and realities of local Russian activism and, of course, a broader understanding of Russian foreign policy and security objectives in Europe and Central Asia.