Robert Ford

American intelligence agencies in the past 20 years usually predict disasters – this way they can escape blame for catastrophes. A report published on April 8 from the National Intelligence Council whose title is “2040: A More Contested World” emphasizes the risks from the rise of China and warns…

The second half of March was not successful for American diplomacy. Secretary of State Blinken hosted China’s top two diplomats in Alaska on March 18, and he reminded the world media about American complaints against China, such as Xinjiang and Hong Kong and Chinese threats against Taiwan and…

I agreed to an interview last week with an American podcast producer from the extreme left of American politics. He invited me because I wrote an article in Foreign Policy magazine in February urging withdrawal of American military forces from Syria. (The Biden administration is, however, staying…

When I was the American ambassador in Syria ten years ago, I often walked after work to a local shop selling laham bi-ajeen to take to my residence for dinner. I would pass coffee shops and commercial stores where people were watching on television the events in Egypt and later the events in Libya…

One experienced American analyst called the February 15 rocket attack against Erbil the first test of credibility for the Biden administration. Michael Knights, and some other American analysts, all agree that an Iraqi militia loyal to Iran was responsible for the attack. Some are urging the Biden…

President Biden appointing Robert Malley as his special envoy for Iran is a clear sign negotiations with Iran are coming. It is worth noting that Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan on January 29 said that re-establishing the 2015 nuclear agreement is urgent. I worked with Jake in…

Joseph Biden has many challenges and he is not yet in the Oval Office. Readers perhaps noticed that he proposed people for Secretary of State, for Secretary of Homeland Security, for the Director of National Intelligence and for United Nations ambassador but not for Secretary of Defense and not for…

Please remember that legally Biden did not officially win the election yet. On December 14 the Electoral College will formally cast their ballots for him. It appears that Biden will have at least 279 votes in the Electoral College, more than the 270 needed for official election. And Biden might…