James Phillips is a former visiting fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at The Heritage Foundation.
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The Obama administration continues to have difficulty in gaining support for its failing strategy to defeat the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL)…. Read More
SecurityCommentary
Not surprisingly, the artificial June 30 deadline set for concluding the P5&1 nuclear talks won’t be met. The deadline backfired against the United States in… Read More
SecurityCommentary
In Washington, a gaffe is defined as a statement in which a politician inadvertently tells the truth. President Obama has been roasted this week for… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Turkey yielded a resounding vote of no confidence in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian and pro-Islamist policies. Erdogan’s political party,… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The seizure of the city of Ramadi by the Islamic State (or ISIS) on Sunday was a major setback for the Iraqi government and for… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The emerging nuclear deal with Iran has numerous flaws that could dangerously undermine U.S. national security. It lets Iran maintain a huge nuclear infrastructure that… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a cargo ship Tuesday in the Strait of Hormuz, after first firing a shot across the bow of the… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The Senate soon will have an opportunity to strengthen congressional oversight over the Obama administration’s naïve and risky nuclear framework agreement with Iran. The Senate… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Is the Obama administration deliberately releasing crucial information about Iran’s nuclear capabilities at politically opportune times? First, let’s look at some history about the Obama… Read More
InternationalCommentary
After missing its self-imposed negotiating deadline for the third time, the Obama administration announced Thursday an agreement in principle with an Iranian regime that has no principles,… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The International Criminal Court, the first permanent international court established to try and punish individuals committing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The nuclear talks with Iran have missed another self-imposed deadline, for the third time in 18 months. The deadline to reach a framework agreement that… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Yemen has been engulfed in an intensifying civil war that has weakened U.S. counterterrorism efforts, created a vacuum of power in which al-Qaeda’s regional franchise… Read More
InternationalCommentary
On Thursday, Obama administration officials indicated that the president was considering a fundamental shift in U.S. policy. Instead of using its veto to block United… Read More
InternationalCommentary
As the Obama administration mounts a final diplomatic push to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran, bilateral Israeli-American relations continue to deteriorate. This week Secretary… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scored a major victory and won a fourth term as Israel’s top leader in Tuesday’s elections. Although the last public opinion… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Egypt retaliated for the decapitation of 21 Egyptian Christian workers held hostage in Libya by supporters of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The grisly propaganda video issued by the Islamic State, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), showing a captured Jordanian air… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The passing of King Abdullah and ascension to the throne of Crown Prince Salman has proceeded smoothly at a time when the Saudi kingdom faces… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The long shadow war between Israel and Iran erupted in a high-profile clash yesterday, as Iran’s surrogate Hezbollah attacked an Israeli military convoy, killing two… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria), has become a bitter rival of al-Qaeda, its parent organization. Its… Read More
InternationalNews
When King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia died on Friday, the loss could be felt in the United States. That’s because Abdullah, 90, who assumed the… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The ouster of Yemeni President Mansour Hadi on Thursday is a victory for al-Qaeda as well as Iran, and a major setback for U.S. counterterrorism… Read More
SecurityNews
Noticeably missing from President Obama’s state of the union speech was any mention of al-Qaeda, the first time that terrorist network went unmentioned since George… Read More
SecurityNews
A leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has claimed responsibility for last week’s deadly terrorist attack by brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi on the… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris against the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists and a Jewish grocery store that killed 17 people have underscored the rising threats… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Australian police yesterday locked down the financial district of Sydney in response to a hostage-taking incident reportedly carried out by an Iranian refugee with a… Read More
InternationalCommentary
It is no secret that the Obama administration has a tense relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to sharp differences on key foreign… Read More
InternationalCommentary
The Obama administration was forced to punt once again at the talks on Iran’s nuclear program when the Iranians refused to budge on their maximal… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The latest propaganda video released by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) featured the beheading of Peter Kassig, an American humanitarian aid… Read More
