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Noah Feldman
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 24, 2015
How IS pushes Egypt toward chaos
The Egyptian government should be very careful about attempting to associate Islamic State terror with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 4, 2015
Why Islamic State makes the Taliban nervous
The Taliban want to avoid a situation in which, having won their long war against the U.S. and its Afghan puppet regime, they have to fight another civil war against an Islamic State offshoot.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jul 20, 2015
It’s alright for Japan to fudge the Constitution
A constitution must be interpreted pragmatically, to serve the nation’s interests and help it avoid existential threats.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 15, 2015
Blame George W. Bush for the rise of Tehran
Iran’s rise wouldn’t have been possible had not the U.S. invaded the regional power that did the most to contain it: Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 9, 2015
Obama’s new Iraq strategy: don’t lose Baghdad
Rather than seek the defeat of Islamic State, Obama will limit U.S. military involvement in Iraq to a level sufficient to keep the militant group from taking Baghdad while he’s in office.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jun 21, 2015
China’s the reason why U.S. needs the TPP
The Trans-Pacific Partnership will make the U.S. stronger in the cool war it’s waging with China.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 9, 2015
Dark days ahead for Turkey?
The AKP’s setback in Sunday’s Turkish elections make make President Recep Tayyip Erdogan more autocratic, not less.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
May 25, 2015
Why Beijing now puts up with Pyongyang’s nuclear nuttiness
In the current ‘cool war’ environment, China sees North Korea’s belligerence as a useful tool to be used against the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
May 22, 2015
China’s Cold War nostalgia
China’s MIRV warhead deployment is meant to emphasize that it intends to become a genuine global power alongside the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2015
Reality check: Drones aren’t precision weapons
When it comes to drones, the fantasy of precision is just that, a fantasy.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 2, 2015
AIIB: Chinese cash versus American might
When it comes to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the message from China to the U.S. is clear: either concede to us the place we deserve in existing international institutions, or we will go around you and start our own.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 31, 2015
A Sunni coalition is a welcome development
The U.S. and Israel should probably welcome the Egyptian president’s announcement of an agreement by the Arab League to create a joint military force, as the Islamic State group is unlikely to be defeated by air power alone.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 22, 2015
Gunmen strike at the heart of Tunisia’s political idealism
The Tunisian government will now have to wake up and acknowledge that the enemies of constitutional democracy view the success of the Tunisian experiment as a threat to their own vision of Islamic law and governance.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 13, 2015
Ukraine: first arms, then what?
If the U.S. commits itself to sending arms to Ukraine, it will be signing up for more than military aid. Arms shipments alone are almost never enough to enable a weaker actor to defeat a big-time power.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 10, 2015
Why Jordan is the Islamic State’s next target
Jordan and the Islamic State group are enmeshed in an extended, dynamic, repeat-play game in which the rules are just now being set.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 23, 2014
Obama, executive in charge
U.S. executive power waxed under the presidency of George W. Bush then waned during the first five years of the Obama administration. Now the subject is back, on issues such as the war against Islamic State, immigration reform and diplomatic relations with Cuba.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2014
Jihadists lose religious credibility
The horrific massacre of 132 boys at their school in Peshawar, Pakistan, embodies a new trend in Islamist terrorism that has emerged this year: Jihadis seem unconcernd with justifying their actions by Shariah law.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 15, 2014
Why CIA torturers won’t be punished
U.S. Department of Justice memos gave CIA a free pass to torture without being punished. Serious crimes were committed, but interrogators will go unpunished.
COMMENTARY / World
May 30, 2014
The Palestinian city that Pope Francis missed
For a glimpse of optimism amid the deadlocked Mideast peace negotiations, Pope Francis should have visited the emerging Palestinian city of Rawabi, intended to house light industry, high-tech firms and as many as 30,000 residents.
COMMENTARY / World
May 9, 2014
Supremes answer town’s prayers
The upshot of the May 5 U.S. Supreme Court decision to uphold prayer before a town council meeting is that as long as no one is coerced, nonsectarian prayer is a political virtue but not a constitutional requirement.

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