Daniel Byman

Essays

Should Assad fall, the ensuing chaos and difficulty will be immense, and calls will rise for U.S. humanitarian intervention. Ambitious initiatives likely will fail, but compelling arguments can be made for going in small.

In the wake of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent elections, Westerners have focused on the Muslim Brotherhood. But the Egyptian Salafis, more fundamentalist than the Brotherhood, bear watching as well.

Armed with pitch-perfect talking points for the Facebook generation, a clique of fortunate sons in the Middle East is set to take over their fathers' sclerotic dictatorships. But this is not regime change. Monarchy is back.

Think that state sponsors of terror are pulling all the strings? Think again. Countries like Iran and Syria may play a big role in the terrorism underworld, but they’re quickly losing control over rogues that bite the hands that once fed them.

The negative effects of an Iraqi civil war can be mitigated, even if the conflict itelf cannot be quelled.

Reviews

Radical Islam is its own worst enemy. It will marginalize itself unless the United States overreacts.

Commentary

As Pakistan cuts deals with radical tribal leaders, the best thing the United States can hope for is that the situation in Afghanistan only becomes worse, not a disaster. What the United States needs to do about state sponsors of terrorism.

The greatest challenge that military forces will face in occupying Iraq after Saddam's fall is the risk of a backlash from the Iraqi people.

It is obvious that a good deal of planning must occur about the shape of post-Ba'athi Iraq, even before any shots are fired.

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May 23, 2013