Ever since the US-led nuclear deal with Iran was announced, the Obama administration has answered critics by arguing there is no better alternative. Here we present the views of several columnists and their proposed alternatives to the landmark agreement, which still must be approved by the US Congress.
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Are There Really Only Two Options on Iran?
Posted July 29th, 2015 at 9:30 am (UTC-4)
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Plenty of conservatives have proposed alternatives to Obama’s Iran deal — and not just war.
The Sources of Opposition to the Iran Agreement
Posted July 28th, 2015 at 11:39 am (UTC-4)
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If the current debate were being conducted solely on the merits of the agreement, the outcome would be almost a no-brainer; the agreement is obviously much better than the alternative of killing the agreement … And yet the agreement’s political fate on Capitol Hill does not reflect that.
Will Obama’s Africa Tour Dispel Disengagement Narrative?
Posted July 27th, 2015 at 3:33 pm (UTC-4)
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The conventional wisdom on President Barack Obama’s engagement with Africa is largely critical – his predecessor did so much more. Africans love Obama nonetheless, observers say. This trip includes some firsts: Obama will be the first sitting American president to address the African Union in Ethiopia, where he has already boldly called for political freedoms. And in Kenya, his father’s homeland, he spoke frankly about gay rights and corruption.
Kenya, Open for Business
Posted July 27th, 2015 at 8:25 am (UTC-4)
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The Chinese have built large numbers of roads, modern office buildings, schools, and ports, as well as other major infrastructure projects. From this, he is likely to conclude that Kenya — in a pattern that is true across the continent — is changing rapidly, and American commercial relations are not keeping up.
US Gun Policy Obama’s Biggest Regret
Posted July 24th, 2015 at 2:24 pm (UTC-4)
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Just hours after President Obama spoke with BBC, a gunman opened fire at a movie theater in Louisiana, killing two people before shooting himself. It was the latest in a string of gun violence in the US: from the massacre of nine people in a famed black church in South Carolina to the shooting deaths of over 20 young children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Obama Presents a False Dichotomy on Iran
Posted July 24th, 2015 at 1:54 pm (UTC-4)
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President Obama and his supporters have done a terrific job of framing the debate over the Iran nuclear agreement as a choice between taking the deal or opting for war … This is a superb debating technique, and it has put critics on the defensive. But it is a false dichotomy.
John Kerry and Ernest Moniz: The Case for the Nuclear Deal with Iran
Posted July 23rd, 2015 at 9:16 am (UTC-4)
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Without this deal, Iran could double its capacity to enrich uranium in a short time. With it, it must reduce that capacity immediately and sharply.
It’s Not the Taliban – It’s the Islamic State
Posted July 21st, 2015 at 12:47 pm (UTC-4)
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Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is now offering a new rationale for keeping American forces in Afghanistan, suggesting that the Islamic State — which has begun to make its presence felt with bombings mainly in the country’s east — poses a potential threat that must be confronted before it spreads.
‘Imperfect’ Iran Accord Could Exacerbate Mideast Situation
Posted July 17th, 2015 at 3:01 pm (UTC-4)
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It is essential that people focus just as much on the challenges of the scenario in which Iran complies with the agreement as the scenario in which Iran fails to comply. And I am much more worried about the former. That will pose the greatest strategic challenge.
Iran Deal: Victory for Diplomacy or Sign of Shrinking Influence?
Posted July 16th, 2015 at 11:41 am (UTC-4)
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A day after announcing a historic nuclear deal with Iran, President Obama held an hour-long press conference, primarily to lobby for controversial pact, which Congress must approve. While some are hailing the deal as Obama’s crowning diplomatic achievement, his remarks left others with the impression that US global influence is waning.
Parsing the Iran Deal
Posted July 15th, 2015 at 3:23 pm (UTC-4)
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A full court press is on from all perspectives of the Iran nuclear deal. President Obama held a news conference Wednesday and sent Vice President Biden to Capitol Hill to try to gain supporters for the deal. Republican criticism of the deal continues and some Democrats are voicing concerns, if not outright rejection. Most Democrats are holding their opinions until they see all the deal’s details. Many are already finding devils within those details.
The U.S. Needs to Keep Troops in Afghanistan
Posted July 8th, 2015 at 12:47 pm (UTC-4)
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We went to Afghanistan for a compelling reason: to ensure that Afghanistan never again served as a sanctuary for al-Qaeda, as it did when the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were planned there under the Taliban. The importance of that mission continues.
A Visitor from Vietnam Offers Obama Another Chance to Learn About The War He Missed
Posted July 7th, 2015 at 11:48 am (UTC-4)
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“Obama is the first president to come of age in the post-Vietnam era,” David Axelrod, the president’s longtime political adviser, told National Journal. “His political consciousness was not shaped by that war. He is not consumed by the arguments that swirled around it.”
Obama’s Cuba Policy Deserves a Cigar
Posted July 6th, 2015 at 2:01 pm (UTC-4)
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President Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday that the U.S. will restore diplomatic relations with Cuba and reopen an embassy in Havana amounts to “unconditional surrender,” opponents say…They have it backward.