Iran’s Attack Requires a Broad Response

Israel's Arrow 3 interceptors operate against long-range Iranian missiles over the city of Ashkelon, Israel in the early morning hours of April 14, 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Iran’s attack on Israel, with more than 170 drones and 120 ballistic missiles, was the largest that Tehran has ever launched against the Hebrew state.  Previously, Iran used proxy forces, including Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Houthi rebels in Yemen, to rain down rockets on Israeli homes and ships. Now, Iran is attacking directly and striking at well […]

Rafah: Is a Common Israeli-American Approach Possible?

Palestinians during Ramadan in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, March 2024. Photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem.

The final major combat phase of the Gaza war, an Israeli attack on remaining organized Hamas forces in Rafah, is approaching. It was delayed due to the humanitarian crisis impacting the Gaza population and negotiations over a limited pause in fighting for release of Israeli hostages. But the “how” of the Israeli operation has produced […]

After Two Years of War: <Br> The West’s Strategic Choice in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelensky meets with US President Biden at the White House, September 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque.

With support from Europe, the United States, and others, Ukraine has held off – and in part, beaten back – Russia’s campaign of conquest and subjugation. But Ukraine has not won, Putin seems determined to fight on, and the West seems beset by doubts as to whether continuing to back Ukraine is practical or worth […]

Israel’s Best Friend Ever

Photo credit: Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect.

President Joe Biden’s poll numbers are in freefall. A December 14 Pew poll found that only one-third of respondents approve of his job performance, the lowest such result since he took office. Moreover, his approval ratings even among Democrats plunged twelve percentage points since October 2022.  >> Window on Washington: Read more from Dov S. Zakheim […]

Iran’s “Controlled Insurgency” against the US in Syria and Iraq

US soldiers in eastern Syria, 2019. Photo credit: ABACA via Reuters Connect.

In the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th and during Israel’s counter-offensive into Gaza, Iranian proxy militias in Iraq and Syria have escalated attacks on US positions in both countries. Fully 60 such attacks have taken place against US forces since October 7. 56 American personnel have suffered injuries in these attacks […]

Biden’s Decision and the American Military Deployment

US President Biden delivers remarks as he visits Israel, October 18, 2023. Photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein.

The profound strategic implications of the American support for Israel in the war against Hamas – including a significant US military deployment to the region (two Carrier Strike Forces and an Ohio-class nuclear submarine, as well as air assets), albeit for the purpose of deterrence rather than participation in the fighting – will fully manifest […]

A Joint American-Israeli Redline on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the Iranian centrifuges in Tehran, June 11, 2023. Photo credit: via REUTERS

A central element of the new film Oppenheimer is time. The time needed to design and construct the ultimate weapon is marked through the steady accumulation of marbles in a fishbowl and a wine glass, which represent the growing stockpiles of uranium and plutonium that ultimately fueled the devices dropped seventy-eight years ago on Hiroshima […]

Should America and Israel Sign a Defense Treaty? Three Israeli Voices

Photo credit: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

A bilateral US-Israel “security deal” or defense treaty is back on the agenda of an Israeli government, according to the press. The Jerusalem Strategic Tribune asked three former senior Israeli officials for their views.  Hunting a Dangerous TrophyYair Golan Let us assume that Israel does put on the table a request for a formal defense […]