All Backchannels
Myanmar hires DC lobbying group with ties to Obama and Hillary ClintonMyanmar looks to add lobbying muscle ahead of promised free elections later this year. Hillary Clinton has hailed Myanmar's opening up to the West as a prime example of her diplomatic derring do.
How moving the goal posts for Iran highlights a broader agendaHawks on Iran from the US to Israel aren't happy about a possible nuclear deal. In part, that's because it might actually work as advertised.
As Yemen war spreads, a reminder of fluid alliances and political intrigueThe US is currently aiding the Saudis against the former US-backed president. And that same ex-president is partnering with a rebel leader he once asked the US to assassinate.
The 'seeds of Iraq's unraveling' were sown in 2003, not 2010Many who were involved in the US war effort in Iraq continue to insist that the country fell apart because of Obama's failings. There is little evidence to support them.
Iran nuclear talks: A summary of the framework dealNegotiators reached a tentative framework deal today in Switzerland. The devil is in the details, but the specifics released so far – if they hold up – look promising.
Reducing Yemen's Houthis to 'Iranian proxies' is a mistakeThe conflict in Yemen is driven by local grievances and competition, not some Iranian plot.
A look at Lee Kuan Yew and the 'malaria-infested backwater' mythSingapore made incredible strides under Mr. Lee, who was laid to rest today. But it was also well ahead of many of its Asian peers at independence.
Yemen is in a civil war. But where is it headed?Many see the violence in Yemen as a proxy war between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran. That's true to an extent, but risks oversimplification.
Israel votes: Netanyahu's last-ditch vow to his base – a dead peace processPoliticians make many campaign promises they don't intend to deliver on. But Netanyahu's promise Monday to never agree to a Palestinian state fits his record.
Is winning in Tikrit really the key for Iraq retaking Mosul?It can't hurt. But Iraq reasserting control over its territory is going to prove a lot more complicated than that.
Netanyahu says Iran deal will lead to nuclear bomb. But what about no deal?Israel's prime minister warned Congress that the US should not sign any nuclear deal with Iran until the Islamic Republic becomes a very different place.
Echoes of Obama-Netanyahu tussle in Reagan-Begin showdown of 1981Then, as now, an Israeli prime minister came to Washington to lobby Congress against a president's foreign policy. Reagan wasn't happy about it, either.
Netanyahu, Iran, and what he wants out of his speech to CongressA look at some specific complaints from Israel on a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
British government made 'Jihadi John' torture and kidnap prisoners? Really?There are good reasons to be skeptical about the claims made by supporters of the militant who has now been identified as Mohammed Emwazi.
As White House, Netanyahu spar over speech to Congress, the gloves come offSusan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said Netanyahu's planned speech to Congress on Iran's nuclear program is 'destructive' to the US-Israel relationship.
Questioning the 'root causes' approach to countering violent extremismIt's a tough job at best, and hard to sustain if the proper conditions don't exist.
War, extremism, Islam, and America's language policeThe right-wing complaint that Obama isn't emphasizing the 'Islamic' part of the 'Islamic State' enough isn't only misguided, it's dangerous.
Islamic State and America's new war: Some good and not-so-good readingThe US is at war with the Islamic State. A look at some opinions on how to successfully fight the group, and the risks that come with that.
If a renowned jihadi cleric can't get through to Islamic State, who can?While the self-described Islamic State's claim that it burned 45 people to death in Iraq yesterday has yet to be confirmed, its obsession with torture and murder continues to rise. And not even a key proponent of global jihad has been able to dissuade them from such gruesome action.
In fight against Islamic State, Iraqi sectarianism is rising, not fallingA look at what that means for the US strategy in Iraq, and for Iraq's future.
