"US President Donald Trump and his administration are plainly unmoved by claims that they bear responsibility for the fates of nations where the United States has intervened," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Suzanne Nossel writes.
"If the ambition is regime change, the means that are being used certainly are insufficient to achieve that," Council President and CEO Leslie Vinjamuri says. "Iran has been succession planning for a very long time."
US President Donald Trump has called for regime change, the destruction of Iranian military capability, and the degradation of proxy groups. But an operation with multiple goals carries greater risk.
"It looks like the very motivation that led the US to enter the war in Iraq is now in play with Iran," Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Paul Poast says.
What does Japan’s Prime Minister signal for security, alliances, and power in Asia and beyond? Takako Hikotani and Noah Sneider explore from the ground.
The United States and Europe are scrambling to reform their partnership. It is an open question as to whether the transatlantic partnership can continue to be an anchor for international order as the rest of the world presses rapidly ahead.
With Washington prioritizing deal-making over competition, Beijing’s confidence is growing—and the risk of miscalculation is rising. Could China use America’s time-out from strategic competition to surpass it economically, technologically, and geopolitically?
Europe must diversify its partnerships and hedge against Russia, China, and an increasingly unpredictable United States, Council Senior Nonresident Fellow Joshua Busby and Greg Pollock write.
