David Ignatius's Blog, page 120

A State Department policy overwhelmed by puffery

Secretaries of state have had private contacts since the job was created, so it’s a mistake to get too indignant about Hillary Clinton’s e-mail exchanges about Libya with her longtime friend Sidney Blumenthal. Still, these messages offer some useful insights about the court politics of Washington and the way policymaking can be overwhelmed by trivia and personal puffery.Read full article >>

The disenfranchisement of America’s center

Hillary Clinton’s move to the left on trade and other issues is a reminder of the growing power of activists in the wings in presidential nominating politics — and a corresponding diminution of the power of the center.Read full article >>

Interagency battles are hurting the U.S.’s fight against the Islamic State

President Obama is rightly pushing Iraqi leaders to unite and take action after the fall of Ramadi last weekend. But he needs to mobilize his own administration’s efforts so that one person drives U.S. military and political strategy against the Islamic State.Read full article >>

A tragic replay in Ramadi

The capture of Ramadi last weekend by Islamic State fighters is a significant setback for U.S. strategy in Iraq and shows that, nearly a year after the extremists overran Mosul, the United States still doesn’t have a viable plan for protecting the country’s Sunni areas. Read full article >>

Time for candidate Clinton to step up on trade

President Obama, so often cool and cautious in his language, gave a full-throated roar on trade last week, saying thatSen. Elizabeth Warren was “absolutely wrong” in her criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and that “her arguments don’t stand the test of fact and scrutiny.”Read full article >>

An upbeat ending to Obama’s Gulf summit

President Obama’s meeting with Arab leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council leaders at Camp David ended with surprisingly upbeat statements and an “unequivocal” U.S. commitment “to deter and confront” any future aggression from Iran.Read full article >>

The antidote to Mideast violence

As Arab leaders gather for discussions at Camp David this week, the Obama administration is quietly debating a revision of its strategy against the Islamic State to reflect a U.S. assessment that the terrorist group poses a global threat. Read full article >>

A new cooperation on Syria

On the eve of a meeting between Arab leaders and President Obama to discuss Middle East security, developments in Syria could bolster the opposition’s campaign to topple the regime there.Driving the opposition push in Syria is a new working relationship between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, the key backers of the rebels in northern Syria. Those countries had been at loggerheads since the Syrian revolution began in 2011, and their internecine quarrels and proxy wars were debilitating for the opposition. Conversely, their new alliance has bolstered the opposition’s chances — and led to major gains on the battlefield. Read full article >>

How to fight the Islamic State’s ‘brand appeal’

As Arab leaders gather for discussions at Camp David this week, the Obama administration is quietly debating a revision of its strategy against the Islamic State to reflect a U.S. assessment that the terrorist group poses a global threat.Read full article >>

Netanyahu’s shaky base

TEL AVIVPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been a dominating political figure in the United States this year, seemingly invincible as he hurled thunderbolts at President Obama and other adversaries. But here in Israel, not so much.Read full article >>