Before we get cynical about 2014, let’s recount the good news from 2013: declining U.S. militarism, a resurgence of diplomacy, and a more forceful global discussion about inequality.
Reasons To Be Cheerful
read more
nuclear negotiations
Ten Good Things about 2013
2013 had its fair share of bad news, but it was also a year of extraordinary activism.
Hope, History, and Unpredictability
A meditation on history and the long arc of justice.
Why Israel Won’t Abide Any Iran Nuclear Accord
With or without nuclear weapons, Iran and its allies are the chief impediments to Israeli hegemony in the Middle East.
Iranian Nuclear Deal: Hardliners Despair, Pragmatists Rejoice
The six-month interim agreement between Iran and the P5+1 powers will echo through the decades if it can bring Washington and Tehran in from the cold.
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.
How We Got Here: A History of Missed Opportunities with Iran
Iran has been willing to deal for at least a decade. Why are there still calls for more sanctions?
Congress vs. Obama on Iran
Hardliners in Tehran are not happy with the recent rapprochement between the United States and Iran and the related progress in negotiations to address Western concerns about the Iranian nuclear program. But the bigger threat may come from hardliners in the...
Syria: What’s Next?
World BeatIt started as a peaceful revolt. It descended into a civil war that has so far claimed over 100,000 casualties and ejected nearly one-third of the population from their homes. Even worse, it has broadened into a regional conflict in which neighboring...
How Syria Brought the U.S. and Iran Together
This year's UN General Assembly may well be remembered as the beginning of the end for Washington's decades-long standoff with Tehran. And none of it would have been possible if the Obama administration had gone ahead with its plan to attack Syria. A few weeks ago,...