All Policy Analysis by جیمز اف. جفری

Whatever understandings the Trump administration reaches after the Islamic State is defeated, it needs to be clear about the stakes: if America does not stop the Iranians in Syria and Iraq, they will soon emerge as the region's dominant force.

His first overseas tour signaled a possible return to traditional American foreign policy, but all the symbolism will mean little without tough follow-up diplomacy to back it up.

Washington won't achieve foreign policy successes without better diplomacy, and the first step is to understand what diplomacy can and can't do.

The administration's plan to retake Raqqa from the Islamic State could further inflame tensions with Turkey and Iran.

No president has faced challenges like this since Reagan, and the patterns of the past thirty years are no longer a guide.

A limited troop presence would support a strategy aimed at containing Iranian aggression.

Offering Putin tough but reasonable sanctions deals on Syria and other regional issues may be the best way of easing persistent bilateral tensions.

A former U.S. ambassador describes how to fix the bad habits and stale thinking that have subordinated Foggy Bottom to the Pentagon and NSC.

While ignoring Turkey's concerns and going all in with the Syrian Kurds may seem like the best military option for defeating ISIS, bringing Ankara into the fold for a multilateral campaign is the best way of avoiding bigger problems down the road.

An updated look at the immediate military issues and longer-term 'day after' concerns that the Trump administration should focus on as the campaign to retake Mosul continues.

Washington should pursue a 'day after' scenario that keeps the United States in the region, maintains its new (YPG) and old (Turkish and Iraqi) relationships, pushes back Iranian ambitions, and 'manages' an inevitable Russian presence.

The military cannot be effective unless it is used to implement policies based on sound geopolitical judgment and an accurate reading of the region's political and cultural realities.