Middle East & North Africa

105 Items

Afghan people climb atop a plane as they wait at the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021, after a stunningly swift end to Afghanistan's 20-year war, as thousands of people mobbed the city's airport trying to flee the group's feared hardline brand of Islamist rule.

Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

A Way Out of Biden’s Afghan Trap

| Aug. 25, 2021

President Biden seems to have set a trap for himself—and for Americans, allied personnel and Afghans seeking to leave Afghanistan. Those civilians were stranded after Mr. Biden withdrew U.S. troops only to be surprised by the Taliban’s quick takeover. Mr. Biden promised to evacuate them by Aug. 31, and the Taliban said they’d hold him to that deadline. On Monday the administration signaled that it intends to abide by it. It won’t be enough time.

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. delivers remarks at the State Department

State Department Photo by Freddie Everett

Analysis & Opinions - PRI's The World

Biden's reentry on the foreign policy stage

| Feb. 25, 2021

The first 100 days are key to understanding where any presidency is going. Now more than a third of the way into that timeframe, how is President Joe Biden doing in the international policy arena? The World’s host Marco Werman speaks with Nicholas Burns, a former US under secretary of state for political affairs and a former ambassador to NATO.

US President Elect Joe Biden and the European Council

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Analysis & Opinions - The Wall Street Journal

Here’s Where Biden Will Face Early Foreign-Policy Decisions

| Nov. 30, 2020

When it comes to president-elect Joe Biden’s foreign policy in Asia, Europe and Latin America, he is likely to focus on issues like transatlantic cooperation, U.S.-China relations and immigration. Ambassador Nicholas Burns and WSJ journalists examine the impact a Biden administration could have on U.S. allies around the world. 

Protesters demonstrating against the killing of a top Iranian nuclear scientist in Tehran, Iran on Saturday.

Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

Analysis & Opinions - The New York Times

Assassination in Iran Could Limit Biden’s Options. Was That the Goal?

| Nov. 28, 2020

The killing of Iran’s top nuclear scientist is likely to impede the country’s military ambitions. Its real purpose may have been to prevent the president-elect from resuming diplomacy with Tehran.

Nicholas Burns

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Analysis & Opinions - MSNBC

NYT reports Pres. Trump sought options for attacking Iran

| Nov. 17, 2020

Nick Burns, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Peter Baker join Andrea Mitchell to discuss the national security threats that accompany the stalled transition and the New York Times' new reporting on President Trump seeking military action against Iran's main nuclear site. "If we launched a military attack on any target in Iran, what we know about the Iranians is they do hit back," Amb. Burns says. "They could try to kidnap or kill American citizens anywhere in the world. They’ve done that in the past.”

Christopher Miller, pictured on Sept. 24, became acting defense secretary after President Trump fired Mark Esper. Miller is perceived as more loyal to Trump than Esper.

Joshua Roberts / Pool/Getty Images

Analysis & Opinions

Former National Security Officials Worry What Trump Could Do In Iran And Afghanistan

| Nov. 13, 2020

After a purge at the Pentagon, former national security officials are worried about the fallout if President Trump were to launch an unprovoked military action against Iran or make big changes in Afghanistan in his waning days in office.

An Israeli worker hangs a campaign billboard of President Donald Trump shaking hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a Jerusalem building

Yonatan Sindel / Flash90

Analysis & Opinions - Haaretz

'What's in It for Trump?': White House Debating Release of Mideast Peace Plan Before Third Israeli Election

| Jan. 09, 2020

With Trump and Netanyahu heading for elections, some in Israel flouted the concern that Kushner's team is considering the release of the plan to help the Israeli PM – which the administration denies.