Executive or Imperial Branch?

May 8, 2008 | Ivan Eland

John Yoo's assertion that Congress has no right to pass laws that impinge on the president's claim to a broad interpretation of his role as commander-in-chief violates the core of the constitutional system of checks and balances.

Quagmires and Wacky Personnel Policies Are Straining the All-Volunteer Military

May 6, 2008 | Ivan Eland

In fiscal year 2007, nearly one in five Army recruits were brought in under waivers for felonies and misdemeanors.

Key to Getting a More Restrained Foreign Policy: Modify Defense Subcontracting?

April 9, 2008 | Ivan Eland

Although George W. Bush was especially gullible and incompetent in attempting his armed, nation-building fiasco in Iraq, the hyperactivity in U.S. foreign affairs is mainly structural.

Five Years of War: Let the Country Divide, and Get Out

March 24, 2008 | Ivan Eland

Although a U.S. withdrawal and soft partition is not a perfect solution, Iraq is in some sense already partitioned, with forces primarily loyal to ethno-sectarian groups providing security.

Accepting Reality Is No Vice, and Being Oblivious Is No Virtue

March 11, 2008 | Ivan Eland

The obliviousness of the American people, politicians, and press is especially acute when it comes to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Charlie Wilson’s Warlords

February 24, 2008 | Ivan Eland

The problem with one-sided movies of historical events, such as JFK and Charlie Wilson’s War, is that they permanently emblazon in the public’s mind simple ideas about complex events that may be in dispute among historians.

U.S. Role in Bringing Pakistan to the Abyss

November 20, 2007 | Ivan Eland

The Bush administration has continually exacerbated the threat of radical Islamism by refusing to see that U.S. meddling in Islamic nations is fueling the problem.

Iraq Is Already Partitioned: Here’s How to Make it Work

October 22, 2007 | Ivan Eland

An incomplete and unratified partition on the ground in Iraq is a dangerous situation.

Government Blunders Create More Demand for Its Services

August 18, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Most of the U.S. public does not seem to notice that its government’s actions have exacerbated or even created foreign threats, which that same government then says it needs more resources in order to counter.

Payback for NATO Expansion

July 31, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Those of us who opposed the expansion of NATO in 1999 and 2004 warned that it would lead to problems with Russia.

Would a Full-Blown Iraqi Civil War Really Be that Bad for the United States?

July 16, 2007 | Ivan Eland

A full blown Iraqi civil war that drags in neighboring states would be bad for Iraqis, but it would have only minimal effects on U.S. security.

U.S. Role in Islamist Terrorism

July 3, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Only by minimizing the permanent U.S. military presence in Arab and Islamic lands can we hope to stem anti-U.S. terrorism.

A Responsibility to Help Iraqi Refugees

June 12, 2007 | Ivan Eland

According to NBC News, since April 2003, when the initial U.S. military action was over, the United States has taken in a scant 535 Iraqi refugees.

The U.S. Military Presence in South Korea Is Not a Model for Iraq

June 6, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Merely suggesting the long-term establishment of U.S. military bases in a historically significant Muslim country will confirm to the Islamist radicals that the U.S. desire for a continued land-based military presence in the oil-rich Persian Gulf was the administration’s real objective in invading Iraq.

Decentralizing Iraqi Governance Is the Last Hope

May 30, 2007 | Ivan Eland

“Iraqization” will fail for the same reason that “Vietnamization” did — societal cleavages prevent a “national” army from saving a fractured country.

Time for Iraqi Self-Determination

May 8, 2007 | Ivan Eland

It may be too late to save Iraq from a massive bloodbath, but the only hope remaining is to attempt to use a U.S. withdrawal to hammer out an agreement that would decentralize the Iraqi government, allow self-determination among the various groups, and create oil revenue sharing.

Will Iraq and Afghanistan Curtail Future Military Adventures?

April 18, 2007 | Ivan Eland

These twin failures, however tragic and painful, will likely usher in a new period of U.S. military restraint, the policy championed by America’s founders.

U.S.–Made Mess in Somalia

April 10, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Somalia is the third example of the United States creating a potentially anti–U.S. Islamist threat where none previously existed.

Ratcheting Up Sanctions on Iran Is the Wrong Approach

March 27, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Broadening the sanctions changes their main purpose from being instrumental to being merely punitive.

Would Terrorists from Iraq Follow U.S. Troops Home?

March 23, 2007 | Ivan Eland

According to Ohio State political scientist John Mueller, the lifetime probability that international terrorists will kill any one American is a miniscule one in 80,000 — about the same as the same person being killed by a comet.

China Returns Fire on U.S. Human Rights Abuses

March 13, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Things are getting bad when an autocracy chastises a republic for its human rights abuses and the criticism has merit.

Containing Iraq’s Civil War Is Not the Answer

March 6, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Leaving large, vulnerable troop concentrations in Iraq’s outlying areas, along its borders, or in neighboring countries is a recipe for getting sucked back into any conflict in the region.

Another U.S. Escalation in Afghanistan?

February 27, 2007 | Ivan Eland

The U.S. government has lost sight of its original mission in Afghanistan: to neutralize the top leadership of al Qaeda.

Iraq: Enough Blame to Go Around

February 21, 2007 | Ivan Eland

The politicians are blaming everyone but themselves for this monumental policy failure.

A Foreign Policy that Only Tarzan Could Love

February 14, 2007 | Ivan Eland

Of all countries during the post-World War II period, including the authoritarian Soviet Union, the United States has been, by far, the most aggressive nation on the planet with its military.

Say Good-bye to a Future Republican Presidency

January 10, 2007 | Ivan Eland

By 2008, the failed Iraq policy will make the hawkish John McCain radioactive as a candidate for president.

More Cheer for the Holiday Travel Season

December 12, 2006 | Ivan Eland

This holiday travel season, Santa Claus is not the only one who is checking to see whether you’ve been naughty or nice. 

Economic Coercion Is Not an Effective Foreign Policy Tool

December 4, 2006 | Ivan Eland

Sanctions usually can achieve only modest goals — usually symbolic — but this is of great use to politicians.

“Cutting and Running” Is Preferable to “Staying and Praying”

November 22, 2006 | Ivan Eland

To give Iraqis the best chance of ending the violence and recovering from the war, a U.S. timetable for withdrawal should be combined with a formal partition of the country. 

Partitioning: The Way Out of Iraq

October 10, 2006 | Ivan Eland

Partition is the only remaining hope for a U.S. withdrawal with any honor and the best chance for achieving peace and prosperity in Iraq.

What If the U.S. and Iranian Presidents Did Debate?

September 8, 2006 | Ivan Eland

Even autocratic states sometimes have legitimate security concerns. And even admirable republics sometimes can swerve off the path of common sense in foreign policy.

9/11 Commission Chairmen Admit Whitewashing the Cause of the Attacks

August 30, 2006 | Ivan Eland

According to Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton's new book, several members of the 9/11 Commission wanted to cover up the fact that U.S. support for Israel was one of the motivating factors behind al Qaeda’s 9/11 attack.

The Cult of the Offensive

August 22, 2006 | Ivan Eland

Believing that grabbing the initiative and taking the fight to the enemy wins wars, the Israeli military has stumbled into the tar pit of fighting wars that only guerrillas could love.

Israel Is Winning the Battle, But Not the War

July 25, 2006 | Ivan Eland

A comprehensive negotiated “land for peace” settlement is the only way to make support for Hezbollah and Hamas evaporate.

George W. Bush: The Worst Post-World War II President?

July 15, 2006 | Ivan Eland

President Bush has some stiff competition from other post-war administrations that failed — those of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon.

Give Iran Positive Incentives to Halt Its Nuclear Program

July 3, 2006 | Ivan Eland

A more restrained U.S. foreign policy in the Persian Gulf area and a U.S. security guarantee for Iran are the key positive incentives that are missing from the U.N. Security Council’s batch of proposals.

Win One for the Gipper (Ayatollah Khameini)

June 23, 2006 | Ivan Eland

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that invading Iraq will make Iran the dominant power in the region for years to come.

The Failed Intelligence Reorganization Needs Reorganizing

May 9, 2006 | Ivan Eland

Pressure to “do something” after a crisis leads to reshuffling boxes on government organizational charts, which usually means an expansion of government.

The United States May Have to Live with a Nuclear Iran

May 4, 2006 | Ivan Eland

The invasion of Iraq and subsequent U.S. military threats against Iran have actually intensified the Iranian desire to get nuclear weapons to keep the superpower out.

U.S.-Chinese Summit Leaves Strategic Relationship Unexamined

April 27, 2006 | Ivan Eland

A summit that should have dealt with the vital issue of how the United States can peacefully acknowledge China’s rise as a great power focused instead on narrow trade and proliferation issues and became a farce of administrative snafus.