Jordan Weathers
Regional Turmoil

Between ongoing atrocities in Syria, the refugee influx that country’s civil war has spawned and the battle to dislodge Islamic State fighters from Iraq, politicians often overlook the crippling impact of the region’s turmoil on a third Arab country: Jordan, a key U.S. ally in a sea of instability. But it’s hard for Dina Kawar to think about anything else. Read More

Incoming Vice President, a Devout
Conservative, Has Nuanced Record

John Nance Garner, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s number two, famously quipped that the vice presidency was “not worth a bucket of warm piss.” FDR, a seasoned politician, may have had little use for old “bucket of warm piss” Garner, but President-elect Donald Trump will clearly be leaning on his VP, Mike Pence, as he moves into the D.C. “swamp” he pledged to drain. Read More

Syrian Civil War Obliterates Principle
Of Hospitals as Safe Spaces

Hospitals were once considered safe places in war zones, but the relentless bombing campaigns in Syria have obliterated that norm with apparent impunity, as President Bashar al-Assad targets medical facilities and personnel to bring the opposition to its knees. Read More

Trump’s Foreign Policy: Loyalty
Takes Precedence over Experience

Donald Trump’s campaign broke every rule in the protocol playbook, so why should his team be any different? As he surrounds himself with fellow billionaires and former military men, he’s also tapping appointees with zero foreign policy experience, prompting fears that his undiplomatic style will have serious consequences abroad. Read More

What Now? Some (Satirical) Advice
To Diplomats From an Ex-ambassador

The diplomats should put down their bottles of antacids and relax. Their job has really become much easier. All they have to do is follow the rules of this new reality. Now Washington has really become much simpler. Here are the only things that the diplomatic corps needs to keep in mind. Read More

Experts Warn Road to Syria Resolution
Goes Through Both Russia and Iran

During the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, Republican Donald Trump made it clear he admired Russian President Vladimir Putin and even talked of working with the autocratic leader to help end the civil war in Syria. But when it came to Syria, one country was conspicuously absent in the real estate mogul’s pronouncements: Iran. Read More

‘The Fix’ Offers Much-Needed

Good News in a World of Bad

Jonathan Tepperman’s “The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in a World in Decline,” identifies 10 seemingly intractable problems that are affecting many — if not most — states, such as immigration, income inequality, corruption and Islamic extremism, but challenges the status quo by offering potential templates for solutions. Read More