The arrest of Ahmad Rahami, a naturalized American citizen from Afghanistan who moved to the United States with his family when he was 7 years old, has poured new fuel on the debate about immigration and national security. On Monday, Donald Trump argued that “These attacks, and many others, were made possible because of our…

The attack by a young Somali-American at a mall in Minnesota and arrest of Ahmad Rahami for the bombings in New York City and New Jersey have reignited the debate over immigration and terrorism. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both responded quickly to events, with Trump complaining that America’s open immigration system was to blame…

What would it mean if a country couldn’t keep any secrets? The question may not be as outlandish as it seems. The hacks of the National Security Agency and the Democratic National Committee represent only the most recent signposts in our evolution toward a post-secrecy society. The ability of governments, companies, and individuals to keep…

In 1998, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today Show: “If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future.” Albright’s view was anything but unique to her or to the Clinton administration. Since the…

Terrorism, I have argued previously, has hijacked much of the American foreign policy debate. Regardless of whether we are discussing Iraq, Iran, Libya, Russia, or nuclear weapons, it seems we are really talking about terrorism. But although it feels like we talk about terrorism nonstop these days, we actually talk about it a lot less…

Donald Trump keeps insisting we live in dangerous times. “I don’t think America is a safe place for Americans” he said earlier this year. And most Americans agree with him. In June71% of Americans said they expected further terrorist attacks in the United States over the next several weeks. And 53% recently said they worry…

The violence and danger in Syria have ratcheted up another notch this week. Hundreds of thousands in the rebel-held areas of Aleppo are cut off from food and water while the 1.5 million living in the government-held areas of the city have limited access to aid deliveries. The United Nation’s top aid official called Aleppo…

Today in the New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argues that the failure to intervene in the Syrian civil war represents President Obama’s worst mistake, “casting a shadow over his legacy.” The war has certainly been a monumental tragedy. Almost 500,000 have died and millions now struggle as refugees. The truth, however, is that Obama’s…

The Democrats in Philadelphia aren’t doing any better than the Republicans at promoting an image of unity. So far no one can make it through a speech without interruption from the Sanders supporters. The clash between Clinton and Sanders has for the most part been framed as disagreements over economic and welfare policy. But one…

As we enter the final lap of the 2016 presidential campaign it is worth reflecting on the foreign policy legacy Obama will leave behind. Unfortunately, it will not be a happy one. Obama has abandoned the hard-won lessons of Vietnam and returned the United States to endless wars conducted without transparency and without robust public debate….

The failed coup in Turkey has prompted a lot of thinking about Turkey. Among other things Europe has to think hard about whether Turkey belongs in the EU. Turkey’s domestic politics also have important implications for American foreign policy. In the short run, instability in Turkey will cause discomfort for its NATO allies and likely…

In 1989, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama famously declared the end of history. As the end of the Cold War approached, the liberal international order appeared to have won the debate about how societies should be governed. In Fukuyama’s words: “What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing…