How to Judge a Nuclear Deal with Iran March 30, 2015 Negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran have intensified this week, as the nominal end-of-month deadline nears for a political framework agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. There has been a recent flurry of analysis of what the terms of a deal would mean, but this is premature – any agreement that is reached is still under negotiation and still subject to change. If a deal is reached, Congress and subject matter experts will have to assess whether or not it can succeed in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. That means looking ahead at the implications of a deal, not getting sidetracked by possible past violations that are separate… Read More ›

Understanding the Crisis in Yemen March 27, 2015 With Yemeni President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi facing a Houthi offensive against his refuge in Aden earlier this week, Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Sunni-majority nations launched a military intervention to push back the Houthis’ gains and restore Hadi’s government to Sanaa. Though the United States is not responsible for Yemen’s recent decline, it has for too long emphasized counterterrorism at the expense of political and economic concerns. Going forward, it should look to deescalate the conflict and restart the country’s political transition – the best way to bring Yemen the stability it needs to confront its many challenges. There are ways the United States can do that within the Saudi-led coalition, to which the United… Read More ›

How Regional Power Struggles Stoke Yemen’s Conflict By Brian Katulis, NSN Board of Directors Chair March 26, 2015 | Wall Street Journal For all the complaints from the Middle East about the Obama administration’s reticence to involve itself deeply in conflicts such as those in Syria and Yemen, nations in the region act on their own when motivated. Saudi military intervention in Yemen‘s civil war–actually a joint effort by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain–underscores a broader struggle for power that is accelerating the collapse of states across the Middle East. The key question now is whether regional actions will lead to stability or further turmoil. At its core, Yemen’s conflict is an internal struggle for power between long-competing factions. But in the past year it has taken on dimensions… Read More ›

Afghanistan at a Crossroads: Troop Extension the Right Call March 25, 2015 President Obama announced yesterday that he would adjust the timeline for the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, keeping 9,800 troops in the country through the end of the year. The troops will train and assist Afghan National Security Forces and “continue to conduct targeted counterterrorism operations,” President Obama said. Speaking before a joint session of Congress this morning, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani stated his gratitude for the ongoing U.S. support to Afghanistan. The continuation of the troop presence was supported in a letter authored by the Alliance in Support of the Afghan People (ASAP) signed by NSN Advisory Board Chair Sandy Berger, NSN Executive Director John Bradshaw, and a host of Afghanistan experts and… Read More ›

Senator Ted Cruz’s Imaginary Foreign Policy March 23, 2015 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced his candidacy this morning at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His speech was long on rhetoric and short on policy, especially foreign policy. Sen. Cruz stressed goals for U.S. policy, asking his audience to “imagine a president who says ‘I will honor the Constitution, and under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon,’” to “imagine a president who says ‘We will stand up and defeat radical Islamic terrorism,’” to “imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” and to “imagine a president that finally, finally, finally secures the borders.” But this isn’t an imaginary foreign policy: these are the actual goals of current U.S.… Read More ›

A Dangerously Confused AUMF Discussion in Congress as Escalation Looms March 13, 2015 Earlier this week, top officials appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the Obama Administration’s proposed authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Secretary of State John Kerry, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey took part in a conversation that highlighted several areas of concern for which additional focus is warranted going forward. In particular, the hearing added confusion to the proposed definition of “associated forces” and how it is currently interpreted or could be interpreted in the future. The hearing also confirmed the proposed language that would prohibit “enduring offensive ground combat operations” lacks significant meaning.… Read More ›

Tom Cotton picked apart by Army general over ‘mutinous’ Iran letter By Jonathan Capehart March 13, 2015 | Washington Post The open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed by 47 senators and instigated by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was a stunning breach of protocol. One so outrageous that my former colleagues at the New York Daily News dubbed the signers “traitors.” While it is indeed a slap in the face of President Obama and an affront to the presidency, I’m not sure I would go that far, especially since Cotton is an Army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. So, I turned to retired Major Gen. Paul D. Eaton for perspective. He wouldn’t say Cotton and Co. were “traitors,” either. He had… Read More ›

A Bumper Crop of Banana(s) Republicans By John Bradshaw March 18, 2015 | Huffington Post One of the ironies of life in Washington is that those most concerned with American credibility are often working the hardest to undermine it. Under the new “Cotton doctrine,” unveiled in the now-infamous letter from Senator Tom Cotton and 46 other Republican Senators to the government of Iran, America’s commitments are only good for as long as the President who signed them remains in office. This is the way banana republics do business, not the United States. It’s an approach unworthy of our diplomatic traditions, and one that damages our ability to work with other nations and exercise international leadership. As a former U.S. diplomat who served overseas under both… Read More ›

Yesterday, House Republicans released a budget that included a massive increase in Pentagon spending to $613 billion for Fiscal Year 2016. The core of the proposal is a $39 billion plus-up to the Department of Defense by funding Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) accounts at artificially high levels so that OCO money can be spent on what should really be base-budget functions. Because OCO is not covered by the Budget Control Act spending caps, the proposal amounts to a massive budget gimmick that would skirt the budget caps on the Department of Defense by playing a budgetary shell game with funds roughly the size of the GDP of Lebanon. In fact, the gimmick is so brazen that it has been harshly criticized by top Republicans themselves.… Read More ›

Statement by Bill French, NSN Policy Analyst Congressional Progressive Caucus Forum on ISIL and the President’s AUMF Proposal March 16, 2015 Distinguished members of Congress, I am honored to join you to discuss the president’s proposed authorization for use of military force (AUMF) against ISIL. Over the next few minutes, I would like to outline how a number of key national security issues relate to considering the president’s proposed resolution and what kind of provisions it should – and should not – ultimately include as a result. In particular, I will focus on select aspects of how the U.S. military strategy against ISIL should inform congressional action on a potential AUMF. As I think all of us know, ISIL poses a very real national security… Read More ›