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1 month ago | 
israelbehindthenews.com | Steven Simon |Adam Weinstein
A month into the fragile ceasefire, Gazans are experiencing a brief respite from violence and the continuing release of Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinians. But debate over the future of Gaza reflects the agendas of states with a stake in the ongoing crisis — rather than the grim day-to-day reality Gazans face on the ground.
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2 months ago | 
foreignaffairs.com | Michael Horowitz |James M. Lindsay |Fawaz A. Gerges |Steven Simon
After half a century of tyranny, the Assad family’s rule over Syria has come to an end. Syrians have every right to celebrate, but their struggle is nowhere near finished. Although the dictator Bashar al-Assad’s final ouster appeared abrupt, it had its roots in Syria’s 2011 antigovernment protests, and Syrians will now face many of the same problems that beset other Arab countries after their Arab Spring revolutions.
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Jan 7, 2025 | 
archive.ph | Michael Beckley |Daniel Lynch |Amy Zegart |Steven Simon
By all appearances, the United States is a mess. Two-thirds of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, and nearly 70 percent rate the economy as “not good” or “poor.” Public trust in government has fallen by half, from 40 percent in 2000 to just 20 percent today. Love of country is fading, too, with only 38 percent of Americans now saying patriotism is “very important” to them, down from 70 percent in 2000.
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Dec 12, 2024 | 
nytimes.com | Steven Simon |Jonathan Stevenson
Mr. Trump tested their capacity in this regard during his first term, and to his chagrin they passed. H.R. McMaster (national security adviser), James Mattis (secretary of defense) and John Kelly (chief of staff) reportedly finessed, slow-rolled and thwarted edicts from Mr. Trump that they considered wrong or grossly imprudent. Whether or not their judgments were sterling, the officials' bureaucratic maneuvering did not depart from established norms, and the president still had the last word.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
almendron.com | Jeffrey Feltman |Steven Simon
The Middle East is where clever foreign policy initiatives go to die. This has been the case since at least the Cairo Conference of 1921, at which British Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill—who had to be reminded repeatedly who was Shiite and who was Sunni, and what the difference was between them—devised a plan, in the space of ten days, to ensure long-term British interests in the region.
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Oct 30, 2024 | 
foreignaffairs.com | Steven Simon |Jeffrey Feltman |Obama administrations
The Middle East is where clever foreign policy initiatives go to die. This has been the case since at least the Cairo Conference of 1921, at which British Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill—who had to be reminded repeatedly who was Shiite and who was Sunni, and what the difference was between them—devised a plan, in the space of ten days, to ensure long-term British interests in the region.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
thisweekthosebooks.substack.com | Ta-Nehisi Coates |Steven Simon |Rashmee Roshan Lall
Discover more from This Week, Those BooksA quick weekly post and podcast that join the dots on the week's big news story and the world of books. Makes you smarter, faster. More than 10,000, in over 110 countries, agree. Over 10,000 subscribers Welcome to This Week, Those Books, your rundown on books new and old that resonate with the week’s big news story. This post is freely available to everyone as we are, first and foremost, a news literacy project and this contentious topic needs context.
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Oct 7, 2024 | 
thisweekthosebooks.substack.com | Ta-Nehisi Coates |Steven Simon |Rashmee Roshan Lall
Welcome to This Week, Those Books, your rundown on books new and old that resonate with the week’s big news story. This post is freely available to everyone as we are, first and foremost, a news literacy project and this contentious topic needs context. A very special shout out to those incredible folks who recently joined others in supporting this effort by investing in a paid membership. Thank you.
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Aug 2, 2024 | 
quincyinst.org | Steven Simon |Adam Weinstein
Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran signal that no leader within Iran’s “axis of resistance” is beyond reach. But what exactly is this alliance, how tight is Iran’s grip, and what are the stakes for the region and the United States if Israel goes to all-out war with it?
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
almendron.com | Steven Simon
As tension grows between Israel and Hezbollah, the dominant political and military force in Lebanon, neither side wants a full-scale war. But one could explode inadvertently — precipitated by the recent attacks on the Golan Heights and on Hezbollah and Hamas leaders — or deliberately, should Israel see a post-Gaza opportunity to rid itself of another one of its enemies.
