Iran Is Hardly On The March By John Bradshaw and J. Dana Stuster July 15, 2015 | Defense One The reality is that Iran is fighting to maintain a diminishing sphere of influence. And Washington mischaracterizes Iran’s actual position in the Middle East. Yes, Tehran covets a role as regional hegemon with power reaching beyond Shiite-controlled areas to become the hub of an anti-Israel axis that includes Sunni territories. But Iran is unable to move this strategy forward. What some of President Barack Obama’s critics portray as a newly aggressive Iranian policy instead reflects Iranian efforts to counter challenges it has not faced in decades. Facts on the ground simply do not support fears in Congress that a nuclear agreement will somehow empower an Iranian grab for regional hegemony. Obama’s nuclear deal should not be evaluated on the basis of hysterics about Iranian imperialism, but rather on its effectiveness at ending Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Five years ago, Iran’s sphere of influence was secure. Its allies in Damascus and Beirut were comfortable and it was consolidating its control of Baghdad. Despite its Shiite identity, Iran sought to build a reputation as a sponsor of anti-Israel causes among Sunni groups, including Hamas.… Read More ›

The Limits of Iran’s Regional Ambitions Policy Brief by J. Dana Stuster July 9, 2015 The reach of Iran’s foreign policy has exceeded its grasp. For all its efforts to maintain its sphere of influence and expand its power in the Middle East, it has gained little from its interventions. Tehran has consolidated its control over the leadership in Damascus and South Beirut, but these allies are stretched thin and seeing their power and influence recede. Meanwhile, Iran is increasingly challenged in Iraq by the Islamic State and resurgent U.S. diplomacy. In Gaza, Tehran has ceded its influence with Hamas to the same governments supplying its opponents in Syria. Far from an ascendant actor in the region, Iran is currently fighting the greatest challenge to its power since its sphere of influence coalesced in the 1980s. The discourse in the United States should take this into account and refrain from inflating the threat of Iran’s policies. Such alarmism risks an American overreaction. Instead, U.S. policy must take into account not just Iran’s ambitions for preeminence in the region, but also the limited effectiveness of its recent strategy. Read the full NSN policy brief. Check out the helpful infographic we made here.… Read More ›

To Counter Violent Extremism, Focus on the Young By Tara Sonenshine, member of the NSN Advisory Board July 2, 2015 | The Hill In the run-up to July Fourth, there is increasing “chatter” about the potential for a terrorist attack somewhere in the world this weekend. And behind the fear of violent extremism, is always an unspoken assumption that Muslim youth around the globe are, by and large, inclined towards negative activity, and likely to be recruited and radicalized by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or another terrorist group, and that social media is today’s platform for youth-inspired hatred, hostility and horrific behavior. Both are misleading assumptions and likely to create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yes, ISIS has become very good at targeting young Muslims to come to Iraq and Syria and join foreign fighters in a struggle to build a caliphate. ISIS preys on youth vulnerabilities and the desperate longing by those most isolated to “belong” to something big, and to address whatever frustrations and sense of injustice young people feel by encouraging them to pick up a weapon and carry out an attack. But the media attention on terrorism carried out by young Muslims eclipses a… Read More ›