David Ignatius's Blog, page 124

Proceed with caution on Iran diplomacy

MUNICHSitting next to Iran’s foreign minister on Sunday as he said that another extension of the nuclear talks isn’t “in the interests of anybody,” it seemed clear that this particular can isn’t going to get kicked down the road much farther. Read full article >>

The United States should think---and act-- like a superpower

Niccolo Machiavelli, perhaps the shrewdest political philosopher in history, believed that great events were shaped by luck — or “fortuna,” as he called this unpredictable force of life. The same actions might produce success or failure, depending on the whims of the goddess Fortuna.Read full article >>

Reshuffling the House of Saud

Saudi Arabia, which often confounds outsiders with its slow and opaque governance, has moved surprisingly quickly under King Salman, its new monarch, to streamline government and purge officials who were seen as underperformers. Read full article >>

A breakthrough on trade in Asia

Strange bedfellows of 2015: As the Obama administration pushes toward a major new trade agreement in Asia this spring, it is developing two unlikely allies: Chinese officials abroad, who are signaling that they want in, and Republicans in Congress, who appear willing to support what would be one of President Obama’s biggest successes.Read full article >>

The lesson from Yemen

What went wrong for the U.S.-backed government in Yemen, and what are the consequences for counterterrorism operations there against al-Qaeda’s most dangerous affiliate? Both questions have disturbing answers. Read full article >>

Saudi Arabia’s coming struggle

Saudi watchers have been talking about the transition from King Abdullah for a decade, but now that it has arrived, it’s as mysterious as ever.The death of King Abdullah begins a period of generational change in the oil kingdom that may last for several years. Crown Prince Salman, the nominal successor, is elderly and infirm, as is the next in line, Prince Muqrin. The Saudi royal family, which has proven itself adept at survival, will be struggling in the next days and months to decide who in the next generationRead full article >>

Fretting over the world economy

DAVOS, SwitzerlandAsign of the concern among business and political leaders here about sluggish economic growth is that one of the World Economic Forum sessions this week was titled “Avoiding a Centennial Slump” — meaning a downturn that lasts a hundred years. Read full article >>

Foreign policy’s post-Obama pivot

President Obama has been chafing for months at the notion that he’s a lame-duck president. That’s one reason he took the offensive in the run-up to the State of the Union address. His aides insist that Obama plays his best in the fourth quarter of the game, and they want him to finish strong, from an opening with Iran to closing Guantanamo. Read full article >>

David Ignatius: The Internet isn’t to blame for radicalization

What’s the relationship between the Internet and the surge of jihadist violence in France, Belgium and around the world? That’s the puzzle examined by Marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former CIA officer whose contrarian views on terrorism are worth a careful look.Read full article >>

David Ignatius: The wrong response to Charlie Hebdo

In the days after the deadly attack on the Paris publication Charlie Hebdo, France declared “war” on terrorism, 10,000 French paramilitary police took to the streets and U.S. conservatives chided President Obama for not leading this new war against jihadists. Read full article >>