A Culture of Violence: Lessons from the Pensacola Attack

Wahhabism is a fundamentally violent doctrine of Islam. It teaches that people fall on one of two sides: the Wahhabis, the chosen who will ascend to heaven; and the rest of humanity, including all other Muslims—all of whom are infidels who are to be hated, persecuted, and even killed. Wahhabis have killed people in Algeria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, London, New York, and now Pensacola. Their essential, intractable violence must be acknowledged if it is to be effectively dealt with.

More Distractions Loom for the US in 2020

Impeachment hearings in the US have overshadowed important geopolitical developments in Eurasia that will affect Washington’s position in 2020 and beyond. The US’s failure to improve relations with Seoul and Tokyo strengthens China’s position in the Asia-Pacific. Similar processes are unfolding around Ukraine, where Kyiv might—in the absence of US support—be pressured into accepting Russian demands on Donbas.

Implications of the British Election for Jews and Israel

The British election returned a resounding mandate to the Conservative Party and decimated the antisemitism-wracked Labour Party. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was exposed as unlikeable and incompetent, and as the facilitator of a massive upswing in antisemitism within the party—all of which was rejected by voters. The lesson for the US Democratic Party is that punitive leftism and overt antisemitism are unacceptable, though divisions within the American Jewish community mute that message. For Israel, the lesson is to try to remain as bipartisan as possible, though that won’t be easy.

Four Lessons a Post-Brexit Britain Can Learn from Israel

A post-Brexit scenario requires long-term strategic thinking by the British establishment. The parallels between the situation of Israel in the Middle East and the eventual position of Britain vis-à-vis a federal European state offer lessons and suggest opportunities. If Britain acts on these lessons, it is more likely to flourish despite the economic and political pressure European leaders may try to exert on it in Brexit’s wake.

Book Review: After ISIS by Seth Frantzman

October 27, 2019 marked the death of infamous “Caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Once his demise had been confirmed, optimistic media voices asserted that the last chapter of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had been written. The western world very much wants to believe we are living in a new, post-ISIS era. But are we?

NATO Must Survive

Lev Stesin
December 17, 2019
Paper No. 1374

The recent urgent push by NATO to provide a defensive framework to Poland and the Baltic states is by no means a false alarm intended merely to shore up a sense of common purpose during a period of crisis. It reflects a serious threat that must be addressed.

Israeli Civil Defense: A Critical Tactic, but a Poor Strategy

Civil defense is a critical tactic that reduces civilian casualties during wartime. However, it is insufficient as a strategy with which to defeat an enemy. Israel has shifted in its use of civil defense from a protective tactic while the IDF achieves battlefield victory to a strategy of restraint that allows the enemy to launch attacks that cause few if any lethal casualties without fear of a devastating response. This is a dangerous development.

Straightening Out Russian Foreign Policy

Russian foreign policy since the mid-2000s tends to be perceived in contradictory terms: as either a negative for Russia or the product of a grand strategic vision on the part of the Russian leadership. It is also often falsely perceived as representing a break with the past. Moscow’s foreign policy moves need to be viewed with a balanced perspective and should be placed in their historical context.

Kremlin Coups Turned Democratic Revolutions

The revolution that took place in the Czech Republic thirty years ago was not just the work of Vaclav Havel and his Charter 77 followers. The spark was a KGB coup directed by General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. A Kremlin coup also helped spur revolutionary change in Germany. The late 1980s saw unprecedented power struggles within the Soviet elite and Politburo under Gorbachev.

Saudi Arabia and Israel: Who Needs Whom?

Extreme instability and mistrust are heightening tensions in the Persian Gulf, especially between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. America’s appetite for military engagement has waned after nearly two decades of war and the region lacks any form of collective security framework, leaving a considerable security vacuum. The Gulf states’ overtures to Israel are part of an effort to salvage America’s security commitment to the area while shoring up a relationship that can mitigate Tehran’s rising influence.

Perspectives Papers