Eliot A. Cohen

Eliot A. Cohen is a contributing editor at The Atlantic and Robert E. Osgood professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. 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.

James Lawler Duggan / Reuters

The Worst Secretary of State in Living Memory

Rex Tillerson’s successor will inherit the monumental task of cleaning up the mess he’s made of the State Department.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Dec 1, 2017
AP

America's Crisis of Courage

Character remains the issue that confronts us in almost every story about national politics today.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Nov 8, 2017
Charles Mostoller / Reuters

Two Wounded Warriors

Senator John McCain and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly offered starkly different visions of service—and of America.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Oct 22, 2017
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Rex Tillerson Must Go

“If he does remain, it will be yet another sign of the collapse of self respect among those who are now willing to serve in senior positions in government.”
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Oct 2, 2017
Mike McQuade

How Trump Is Ending the American Era

For all the visible damage the president has done to the nation’s global standing, things are much worse below the surface.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- October 2017 Issue
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Is It Time for Trump Aides to Resign?

Many presidential appointees face an agonizing choice—leave the president with fewer restraints on his darker impulses, or stay to serve the republic even if it costs their integrity.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Aug 20, 2017
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

America Is Not Ready for a War in North Korea

If loose words about fire and fury are a mere negotiating tactic, they will not deliver what the United States desires.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Aug 9, 2017
Steven Senne / AP

The Downsides of John Kelly's Ascension

It's not a signal that the president is preparing to moderate his White House—it's a signal he's going to the mattresses.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Jul 31, 2017
Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

What Did Trump Accomplish on His First Foreign Trip?

Some firm handshakes, forced smiles, and awkward sword dances. In short, nothing.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- May 28, 2017
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

The Terrible Cost of Trump's Disclosures

The consequences of the president’s reported divulgence of top-secret codeword information to the Russians are only beginning.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- May 15, 2017
Yuri Gripas / Reuters

Rex Tillerson Doesn't Understand America

His idea that the country’s interests and its values are two separate things—the first mandatory, the second optional—reflects a misreading of the past.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- May 5, 2017
Carlos Barria / Reuters

Does Trump Know What to Do After Striking Syria?

Simply blaming Obama won't work as a game plan.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Apr 7, 2017
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

The Silence of Rex Tillerson

Sooner or later, someone needs to explain what Trump’s foreign policy is. But the secretary of state does not seem to understand his job.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Apr 4, 2017
Carlos Barria / Reuters

The Rudderless Ship of State

The departure of Michael Flynn leaves the administration with a feuding crew, and no one at the helm.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Feb 14, 2017
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

A Clarifying Moment in American History

There should be nothing surprising about what Donald Trump has done in his first week—but he has underestimated the resilience of Americans and their institutions.
- Eliot A. Cohen
- Jan 29, 2017