U.S. Policy

Russia's summer 2015 entry into the Syrian war and Turkey's subsequent shootdown of a Russian jet reportedly violating its airspace have upended previously smooth ties between Ankara and Moscow. Yet the ensuing tensions have given the United States an unprecedented opportunity to restore strong cooperation with Turkey, not only in

By taking an overcautious approach in Syria, the president has highlighted America's failure to have an open discussion about the real strategic lessons of the Iraq war.

Once Washington sees that defeating ISIS and dealing with the aftermath are two separate, albeit linked, operations, then the cost and benefits of using U.S. ground troops for the former can be soberly assessed.

By backing off sanctions over Iran's ballistic missile test, the Obama administration has left the impression that, contrary to its repeated pledges, it may not enforce current sanctions or impose new ones should Tehran violate UN Security Council resolutions.

While the Sisi government's increasingly repressive trajectory remains a concern, the ongoing deterioration of Egypt's internal security is the more immediate threat, and U.S. policy should be adjusted accordingly.

In the president's usage, the term "ground forces" conjures up massive numbers of troops obviously superfluous to the task of defeating the ill-trained, ill-equipped militias of the Islamic State.

No, President Obama didn't set out to promote Russian and Iranian ambitions in the Middle East, but his policies have contributed to strengthening them.

Ironically, most of the Sunni Arab states see Israel as a bulwark against Iran and the Islamic State, so emphasizing those security relationships and restoring the image of American reliability would make it easier to ask more of them on both fronts.

By stopping in the Mediterranean on its way to the Persian Gulf and conducting joint anti-ISIS strikes with the French, the USS Truman could send a strong message to NATO allies and Moscow alike.