[T]he risk is that unconditional sanctions relief could once again reinforce Iran’s external projection of power rather than stabilize its domestic economy.
The shift now underway is unlikely to take the form of a dramatic collapse of American power in the Gulf. It is more likely to be subtler and, for the region, more unsettling.
European autonomy - military, technological, economic, and financial - is beginning to take shape as Europe hedges against current and future fluctuations in [U.S.] policy.
The shift now underway is unlikely to take the form of a dramatic collapse of American power in the Gulf. It is more likely to be subtler and, for the region, more unsettling.
[W]hen ethics are abandoned for epics, and when political power subverts rational military decision-making, it is not surprising that symptoms of strategic fatigue begin to develop.
But with a maniacal president who cannot tolerate even a simple difference of opinion, a country that dares not to comply with his demands turns into an enemy that must be eliminated.