It’s often said that perception is reality - and, no doubt, there’s something to that old adage. But we also know that from time to time, upon a closer look, our assessments can be wrong - very wrong.

More »

In February, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, shockingly told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the nearly 16-year old war in South Asia with the Taliban was essentially a “stalemate.”

More »

The progress seen in the pitched battle between Iraqi troops (supported by U.S. forces) and ISIS for control of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul may seem like the light at the end of the dark Islamic State tunnel. But that hopeful glimmer may just be a geopolitical freight train coming the other way.

More »

As “welcome” as a bone-chilling blast from a mid-March nor’easter, more bad news continues to blow our way out of Moscow, minimizing the possibility of a springtime thaw in U.S.-Russia relations.

More »

It’s also a bit of a powder keg these days.

More »

With a new American national security team just coming into office, it was only a matter of time before North Korea would go “ballistic” with a menacing missile launch.

More »

It’s just basic human nature, but no one likes to look over their shoulder to see an eager competitor gaining on them no matter what the situation is, right?

More »

It’s just basic human nature, but no one likes to look over their shoulder to see an eager competitor gaining on them no matter what the situation is, right?

More »

People will spin it anyway they like - and they will - but President Trump’s decision to take a pause and review travel to the United States from seven Middle Eastern and North African countries is sound national security policy.

More »

President Trump and his team have inherited a world in incredible tumult, an international landscape arguably rife with more uncertainty than at any recent time.

More »

While a lot of white-hot issues will be hammered on in the coming weeks during U.S. Senate confirmation hearings for the incoming administration’s Cabinet secretaries, no topic will generate more sparks than Russia.

More »

One of the best known holiday songs is the tune “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” first sung by Bing Crosby in 1943. As a child, my grandmother told me the song was for the troops fighting overseas during World War II.

More »

I’d be quite happy to be proven wrong, but here’s my sense of what the death of 90-year-old former Cuban President Fidel Castro Friday will mean for the long-suffering people of that Caribbean island nation: Nada.

More »

To: President-elect Donald J. Trump

More »

It’s pretty darn hard to come up with good news on foreign policy these days considering the severely unsettled state of the world. And while I use the phrase “good news” loosely, I may have actually stumbled upon some regarding Russia.

More »

The Russians are at it again.

More »

People seem plenty panicked about recent reports of Russian war planes using an Iranian air base for bombing runs into Syria as part of its ongoing support for the beleaguered regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

More »

In the foreign policy and national security field, one way to “eyeball” the seriousness of a potential threat that one country poses to another is to use the formula: Threat = military capabilities + political intent.

More »

As if they didn’t have enough to deal with already, the Pentagon has a new problem to panic about: the rise of Islamic State (aka ISIS) affiliates in Afghanistan and Libya.

More »

Will someone please call the Kremlin ASAP and ask them to remove all copies of the movie “Top Gunski” from the ready rooms of Russia’s fighter pilots?

More »

When people think of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, they probably think of … well … actually … nothing, because few Americans probably think much about it at all — if ever.

More »

It’s understandable to put a laser-like focus on the horrific bombings in Brussels that resulted in more than 30 deaths and hundreds of injuries to innocents, including Americans, at the hands of Islamic State terrorists.

More »

There’s a lot of confusion about the announcement by the White House late last week about the upcoming deployment of U.S. special operations forces to Syria, especially after President Obama repeatedly promised — going back to 2013 — no “boots on the ground.”

More »

When considering unprecedented Chinese island-building in the South China Sea, you might say that Team Obama has put itself quite literally between a “rocky outcrop” and a hard place on what to do about it.

More »

Some seem baffled and or shocked by the raw ruthlessness of the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL and Daesh) most recently foisted upon us by the video of the immolation — a euphemism for being burned alive — of a captive Jordanian pilot.

More »

A year ago this month in a nationally televised address, President Obama spoke to the nation about his intention to “degrade” and “ultimately destroy” the Islamic State (aka ISIS) in Iraq and Syria.

More »

Of the myriad of mind-blowing flaws contained in the Iran nuclear deal — a subject that has dominated the foreign policy debate across the country this summer — there’s one angle that hasn’t gotten enough attention.

More »

Reportedly there was a fierce firefight with the terrorists at the Abu Sayyaf compound, including the Islamic State’s use of “human shields.” But not only were our troops able to get the target, they were also able to whisk Abu Sayyaf’s wife off to Iraq.

More »

Tired of the bantering about the deeply-flawed Iran nuclear deal? No worries, there are plenty of other scary scenarios to mull over during your morning coffee beyond the ayatollahs splitting atoms.

More »

It turns out the Iran nuke deal is a lot like the guy or gal you spy across the room at a dimly-lit party who from afar seems quite alluring — that is, until you get closer and realize the object of your affection isn’t what you had hoped for.

More »

One of the most troubling elements of the Iranian nuclear deal is the financial lifeline it throws to Tehran by lifting the punitive economic sanctions slapped on it because of bad behavior on atomic affairs.

More »

With the deadline pushed off until July 7, I’m betting that an Iran nuke deal actually will be trumpeted over the July 4 holiday weekend, since the best time to put out controversial news in Washington, D.C. is near or over a break.

More »

The unfolding political, humanitarian and security disaster involving Iraq, Syria and the Islamic State is like watching a slow-motion train wreck.

More »

Like a threatening weather pattern stalled ominously over the region, the chances of the dark gray thunder clouds of conflict clearing out anytime soon isn’t likely.

More »

One of the unhappy truths of life is that you can get a pretty good idea of your power and popularity by the number of invited — even more so, uninvited — guests who show up at your personal party.

More »