The Empty-Headedness of K.T. McFarland

by Jim Lobe When retired Adm. Robert Harward rejected Donald Trump’s offer to succeed Gen. Michael Flynn as the president’s new national security adviser (NSA), a variety of sources reported that the general’s real reason was that he couldn’t pick… Continue Reading

Trump and Ahmadinejad: The Delusional Duo

by Jim Lobe It was almost a year ago that Shervin Malekzadeh published a brief but incisive essay—which we republished immediately after the November 8 election—on the striking parallels between then-candidate Donald Trump and former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Among… Continue Reading

Who Will Rule Trump Foreign Policy?

by Jim Lobe The most frightening commentary I’ve read in the run-up to the inauguration—and there have been many—appeared in a column identifying the four people whose foreign policy ideas were likely to be most influential with the then-president-elect. It… Continue Reading

Jake Sullivan’s Five Hard Questions for Trump’s Mideast Policy

by Jim Lobe On January 11, the Middle East Policy Council (MEPC) presented its 87th Capitol Hill Conference on the future of U.S. Middle East policy under the Trump administration. Speakers included Jake Sullivan, Hillary Clinton’s senior foreign policy advisor… Continue Reading

Has Trump Become Adelson’s “Perfect Little Puppet”?

by Jim Lobe and Eli Clifton Amid continuing controversy over whether and how much Donald Trump owes his election to Vladimir Putin, it seems pertinent to ask whether he has other IOUs outstanding. Although his consistent praise of the Russian… Continue Reading