Order from Chaos

Demonstrators wave Lebanese flags as the pass by Lebanese soldiers during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon, October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RC116FDD2CA0

With Lebanon making fragile progress, now is the wrong time to pull US assistance

Jeffrey Feltman

Friday, November 1, 2019

Smoke raises behind an Islamic State flag after Iraqi security forces and Shiite fighters took control of Saadiya in Diyala province from Islamist State militants, November 24, 2014. Iraqi forces said on Sunday they retook two towns north of Baghdad from Islamic State fighters, driving them from strongholds they had held for months and clearing a main road from the capital to Iran. There was no independent confirmation that the army, Shi'ite militia and Kurdish peshmerga forces had completely retaken Jalawla and Saadiya, about 115 km (70 miles) northeast of Baghdad. Many residents fled the violence long ago. At least 23 peshmerga and militia fighters were killed and dozens were wounded in Sunday's fighting, medical and army sources said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1EABP0BT301

What America never understood about ISIS

Friday, November 1, 2019

Volumes of observation records are seen inside the library at the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory, India, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "SUN GAZING" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. - RC17A082F020

Remembering Steve Cohen — Scholar and mentor

Dhruva Jaishankar

Friday, November 1, 2019

Commuters stand still at a crowded railway station to pay homage during a two-minute long remembrance for bomb blast victims in Mumbai July 18, 2006. Millions of people in Mumbai stopped all conversation, traffic came to a halt and cinemas interrupted films on Tuesday as the Indian city observed a short silence in memory of 182 people killed in last week's bombings. - PBEAHUNKPEU

Brookings colleagues past and present remember Stephen P. Cohen

Michael E. O’Hanlon, Bruce Riedel, Dinshaw Mistry, and Dhruva Jaishankar

Friday, November 1, 2019

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives to testify as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 29, 2019. REUTERS/Erin Scott - RC1D765CC9B0

How much have Trump’s dealings with Ukraine deviated from the presidential norm?

James Goldgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders

Friday, November 1, 2019

A military family reunites at DFW airport in Dallas, Texas, October 22, 2008. Among those struggling in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression are members of the U.S. armed forces and their families. Picture taken October 22, 2008. To match feature FINANCIAL/MILITARY REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi (UNITED STATES) - GM1E4AS1CUD01

Highlights: Experts discuss military spouse (un)employment

Adam Twardowski

Thursday, October 31, 2019

A detail onboard of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, is seen after it docked at a port in Danang, Vietnam March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Kham - RC1351904F80

Highlights: A conversation with the Secretary of the Navy

Adam Twardowski

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain October 30, 2019. ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC157B67D070

Brexit endgame: Parliament agrees to December elections

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader and Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer attends a news conference in Berlin, Germany October 28, 2019. REUTERS/Michele Tantussi - RC14E36E7400

A European security force in Syria is a courageous idea

Constanze Stelzenmüller

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

A bearded man with Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's appearance speaks in this screen grab taken from video released on April 29, 2019. Islamic State Group/Al Furqan Media Network/Reuters TV via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. THE AUTHENTICITY AND DATE OF THE RECORDING COULD NOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED BY REUTERS. - RC1A82D43980

5 lessons from the death of Baghdadi

Daniel L. Byman

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (2nd L), U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper (3rd R), along with members of the national security team, watch as U.S. Special Operations forces close in on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 26, 2019. Picture taken October 26, 2019. Shealah Craighead/The White House/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1CACE38AD0

Al-Baghdadi’s death … and that presidential speech

Daniel L. Byman

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

American soldier reads a newspaper in the shade under a U.S. Marine tank in Beirut, Lebanon. / Library of Congress

Beirut 1958: America’s origin story in the Middle East

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor arrives to testify at a closed-door deposition as part of the U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry led by the House Intelligence, House Foreign Affairs and House Oversight and Reform Committees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso - RC1225F461D0

Quid pro quos, bureaucrats, and duty

Monday, October 28, 2019

A U.S. soldier from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment shields himself from the rotor wash of a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter after being dropped off for a mission with the Afghan police near Jalalabad in the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan December 20, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: TRANSPORT CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1EACK1LDW01

Why Democratic candidates should propose ‘5,000 for 5’ in Afghanistan

Michael E. O’Hanlon

Monday, October 28, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a memorial ceremony held at the supreme court honouring former Supreme Court president Meir Shamgar who died on Saturday in Jerusalem October 22, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC11B6ED8B50

Israel’s government formation: Answering the key questions

Kevin Huggard and Natan Sachs

Friday, October 25, 2019