Nuclear war hawks forget to factor human error into their national-security equation.
Nuclear Weapons’ Lofty Safety Standards Often Go Unmet
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War & Peace
Running Off to War
As in the 1940s in Palestine, some opposition recruits have gone to Syria motivated by extremist ideologies and with the intention to commit acts of terrorism. But most have more prosaic reasons for fighting.
We Forget That Deterrence Doesn’t Need to Be Nuclear
As a principle and practice, deterrence existed long before nuclear weapons.
In a Changing Middle East, Israel and Saudi Arabia Cling Together
As unrest simmers in the Middle East and the United States edges toward detente with Iran, Israel and Saudi Arabia are trying to ride out the storm together.
Obama Administration Actually Doesn’t Want Too Good a Nuclear Deal With Iran
Another Iranian overture spurned.
The M23 Surrenders: A Pyrrhic Victory in Eastern Congo
Given the roots of the ongoing conflict in North Kivu, military victory amounts to exchanging one group of exploiters for another.
The Undead and Us
Zombies speak to our perennial anxieties about war, pandemics, and globalization.
Mistaking Omniscience for Omnipotence
No one knows what a major state would be like if it radically cut back its intelligence services–but based on the recent American record, it’s hard to imagine we could be anything but better off.
The Battle of Berlin: 70 Years Ago This Month
Starting on November 17, the British launched the single most intensive bombing attack on a city in World War II.
Seeing Past “Death to America”: A Conversation with Hooman Majd
Iranian-American author Hooman Majd says that Americans are starting to see Iran as more than “just a bunch of crazy mullahs shouting ‘Death to America’ all the time.”