Eliot A. Cohen

Eliot A. Cohen is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, a professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and the Arleigh Burke chair in strategy at CSIS. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Counselor of the Department of State. He is the author most recently of The Big Stick: The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force.

Sergei Supinsky / AFP / Getty

What Victory Will Look Like in Ukraine

There will be no return to normalcy or status quo ante.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- May 11, 2022
Diego Herrera / Xinhua / Eyevine / Redux

This Is the War’s Decisive Moment

The United States and its allies can tip the balance between a costly success and a calamity.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- April 12, 2022
Aris Messinis / AFP / Getty

Don’t Let Up Now

The West must do what it takes to help Ukraine prevail.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- March 28, 2022
Gleb Garanich / Reuters

Why Can’t the West Admit That Ukraine Is Winning?

America has become too accustomed to thinking of its side as stymied, ineffective, or incompetent.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- March 21, 2022
Reuters

America’s Hesitation Is Heartbreaking

As the leader of NATO and of the free world, the United States needs to think much bigger than it has thus far.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- March 14, 2022
Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times / Getty

The Strategy That Can Defeat Putin

The U.S.-led coalition of liberal-democratic states should pursue three objectives.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- March 7, 2022
Getty; The Atlantic

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man

Why did so many observers misjudge Putin and Zelensky?
- Eliot A. Cohen
- March 1, 2022
Alexei Nikolsky / TASS / Getty

Arm the Ukrainians Now

The U.S. must support an insurgency that will cause Russia to regret any attempt to crush democracy and independence.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- February 23, 2022
Mikhail Svetlov / Getty

Putin’s No Chess Master

Some believe Putin has not only Ukraine, but the whole West, exactly where he wants it. A more balanced consideration is in order.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- January 26, 2022
John Taggart / Bloomberg / Getty

The Rot of Democracies

If America succumbs to its internal divisions, to its preoccupation with partisan feuding and its desire to withdraw from international politics, the world order, such as it is, will crumble.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- October 6, 2021
Staff Sgt. Victor Mancilla / U.S. Marine Corps …

A Dishonorable Exit

Honor demanded America rescue Afghans who served alongside us and assist those who took chances on their country because we asked.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- September 3, 2021
Seamus Murphy / VII / Redux

A Moment for Soul-Searching

The United States owes its Afghan allies careful scrutiny of its institutional and personal failures—without recrimination, but also without excuses.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- August 16, 2021
Ben Brody

‘How Does One Process Defeat?’

A letter to a civilian who deployed to Afghanistan
- Eliot A. Cohen
- July 29, 2021
Seamus Murphy / VII / Redux

Exit Strategy

There will be no power-sharing, no reconciliation, no peace of the brave.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- April 13, 2021
Jon Cherry / Getty / The Atlantic

These Old Evils Require Old Remedies

The machinery of justice should be relentless and thorough.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- January 11, 2021
Stan Grossfeld / The Boston Globe / Getty

Don’t Despair

Americans are equal to this moment.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- January 4, 2021
Getty / The Atlantic

Trump’s Enablers Will Meet Their Shakespearean Ends

The Bard had a rich sense of the creeps and criminals, sycophants and slimeballs, weirdos and wing nuts who hang around power.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- December 21, 2020
Brendan Smialowski / Getty

This Is No Job for a General

President-elect Joe Biden should choose a civilian to lead his Department of Defense.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- December 8, 2020
Getty / The Atlantic

Trump the Genius, Trump the Incompetent, Trump the Bogeyman

A character study of the 45th president
- Eliot A. Cohen
- November 15, 2020
Netflix

The Great British Baking Show and the Meaning of Life

In these fraught times, I like to seek refuge in the idyllic England of my dreams—one that still exists in The Great British Baking Show.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- October 18, 2020

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