Kathy Gilsinan
She was previously an editor at World Politics Review.
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Patrick Baz / AFP via Getty The War Machine Is Run on Contracts
America's wars wouldn’t be possible without contractors, but presidents usually ignore the thousands who have died.
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Nazanin Tabatabaee / WANA via Reuters America’s Self-Sabotage in the Middle East
The consequences of these decisions will extend far beyond the region itself.
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Nazanin Tabatabaee / West Asia News Agency / ... It Wasn’t the Law That Stopped Other Presidents From Killing Soleimani
The Iranian general helped get hundreds of Americans killed—through two administrations. Both declined to kill him.
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Press Office of Iranian Supreme Leader / Anadolu ... The Soleimani Assassination Is America’s Most Consequential Strike This Century
The U.S. attack against the top Iranian general will have far greater repercussions than the killings of al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders.
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Nazanin Tabatabaee / WANA / Reuters It Was Never Just About Human Rights in Iran
The administration's commitment to a better future for Iranians may last only as long as that commitment can be used to secure the regime’s demise or a better nuclear deal—whichever comes first.
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Wang family photo via Princeton / Handout via ... An American Prisoner Comes Home From Iran
The Trump administration has made a priority of bringing prisoners home—and of pressuring Iran. With Xiyue Wang’s release, it can claim victory on two fronts.
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Leah Millis / Reuters How Trump Turned the Military Against Itself
The president’s repeated interference in a Navy SEAL’s case shows that he cares about only one kind of military discipline—obedience to Trump.
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Martyn Aim / Corbis / Getty What ISIS Will Become
The group has lost its territory and its leader. But it has survived before—and can do it again.
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Mark Wilson / Getty Pompeo Can’t Escape
The secretary of state has been trying to distance himself from the impeachment hearings, but today’s explosive testimony put him at center stage.
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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Erdoğan Defies Trump. So Why Do They Get Along?
The two have undeniable personal chemistry, but their countries are drifting apart.
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Alexander Drago / Reuters The Slow-Boil Revolt
Retired senior military officers are growing more concerned that the Trump administration doesn’t want their advice—and they’re struggling with how much they can say publicly.
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Philippe Wojazer / Reuters Will the Generals Ever Crack?
Retired senior military officers tend to avoid weighing in on politics. But not always.
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Omar Sanadiki / Reuters The World’s Worst Game of Risk Is Playing Out in Syria
After weeks of chaos in the northeast, great powers redrew a small chunk of the map. And a bigger story is just beginning.
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Khalil Ashawi / Reuters The Kingpin Problem
Killing terrorist leaders gets attention, but it doesn’t stop terrorism.
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Murad Sezer / Reuters What Was the Point of the Syria ‘Withdrawal’?
Donald Trump, who vowed to get troops out of Syria altogether, incurred all the strategic costs without getting any of the political benefit.
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Azad Lashkari / Reuters Trump Has Achieved a ‘Sloppy’ Success in Syria—For Now
Whatever the agreement was, it left the status quo in place, at least for the time being.
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Rodi Said / Reuters There Is No Plan B for ISIS Prisoners
As Turkey stokes chaos in northern Syria, the U.S. has no new options to deal with the ISIS prisoners held there—or what to do if they escape.
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Handout via Reuters Why Is Turkey in NATO Anyway?
The alliance goes back more than 60 years—and it’s been decades of disappointments for both sides.
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Demiroren News Agency (DHA) / REUTERS The U.S. Moves Out, and Turkey Moves In
The biggest hitch to Turkey’s ambitions in northeastern Syria was the presence of U.S. forces. No more U.S. forces, no more hitch.
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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters Trump Is Killing a Fatally Flawed Syria Policy
Did the president betray the Kurds or help dismantle a contradictory strategy in Syria? Both.
