Latest Articles

Iraq Is Still A Work In Progress

January 23, 2012  •  U.S. News & World Report

Nearly nine years after the start of military operations in Iraq, the prudence of America's intervention remains a hotly-debated topic. What should not be is that, having spent nearly a trillion taxpayer dollars and forfeited thousands of American lives, the United States now has an enormous stake in post-Saddam Iraq, and a vested interest in its long-term success.

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Beijing And Tehran's Coming Divorce

January 11, 2012  •  Wall Street Journal

Is China finally coming around on Iran? For years, Beijing's steady backing has helped the Iranian regime frustrate international efforts to isolate and penalize it for its nuclear ambitions. This month, however, there are heartening signs that China is reassessing its longstanding strategic partnership with the Islamic Republic.

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Iran's Nuclear Agenda Comes To Our Backyard

January 10, 2012  •  Washington Times

Last weekend, amid deepening tensions between his regime and the international community, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad commenced a high-profile diplomatic tour of Latin America. The foreign visit, which will take the Iranian president to Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador, is the latest sign of Iran's growing interest in, and intrusion into, the Western Hemisphere - a phenomenon with grave implications for U.S. security.

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Reading The Tea Leaves On Obama's New Military Strategy

January 5, 2012  •  Forbes.com

Earlier today, President Obama unveiled a revamped national military strategy in a major address at the Pentagon. While the full details of the strategy—dubbed "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense"—have yet to be disclosed, early reports offer some important insights into the Administration's evolving national security and defense priorities.

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Constraining Iran In The Strait

January 3, 2012  •  International Herald Tribune

The past two weeks have seen a dramatic escalation in Iran's war of words with the West.

Last Wednesday, Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi told Iran's official news agency, IRNA, that new economic pressure currently being contemplated by the West would come at a steep cost. According to Rahimi, "not a drop of oil" will pass through the Strait of Hormuz — a key strategic waterway that serves as a conduit for as much as a third of the world's oil — if additional sanctions are levied against the Islamic Republic for its nuclear program. Iran's top naval commander, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, has been even more explicit, warning publicly that his country stands ready to block the strait if necessary.

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Books by Ilan Berman