Michael E. O'Hanlon
Capsule Review
Mar/Apr
2013
In this useful little book, Pifer and O’Hanlon call for reviving nuclear arms control, arguing that Washington should build on the 2010 New START agreement, between the United States and Russia.
Snapshot
Hillary Clinton has had a solid tenure as secretary of state. There have been plenty of accomplishments and no major failures, but nor has there been any world-historical Clinton Doctrine. More than anything else, her continued effort to create one might just lead her to the Oval Office.
Essay
May/June
2012
The Obama administration’s foreign policy has tried to reconcile the president’s lofty vision with his innate realism and political caution. And given the domestic and global situations Obama has faced, pragmatism has dominated. Judged by the standard of protecting U.S. interests, things have worked out quite well; judged by the standard of midwifing a new global order, they remain a work in progress.
Capsule Review
Nov/Dec
2009
Which Path to Persia? presents four possible approaches for U.S. policy toward Iran: a diplomatic solution, a military response, regime change, and containment. Diplomacy breaks down into two options, persuasion or engagement.
Essay
Sep/Oct
2008
The situation in Iraq is improving. With the right strategy, the United States will eventually be able to draw down troops without sacrificing stability.
Review Essay
Jan/Feb
2005
Renewed anxiety over a nuclear attack has prompted three new books on the threat and how to confront it. On one key point they all agree: the need to ensure that "peaceful" nuclear programs do not serve as a guise for less-than-peaceful intentions.
Essay
May/Jun
2002
The military campaign in Afghanistan has been, for the most part, a masterpiece of creativity and finesse. It may wind up being one of the most notable U.S. military successes since World War II. But the American strategy has also had flaws. Most important, by contracting out much of the work to undependable local proxies, it may have allowed Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders to escape -- and menace the world down the road.
