Looking Back in Anger
Vladimir Putin may control Crimea, but his 19th century tactics do not bode well for Russia By Fareed Zakaria The crisis in Crimea reminds us there are two kinds of rulers around the world: those who think about the past and those who think about the future. If it were not abundantly clear before, it … Continue reading
Time to Put Trade Above Politics
Washington needs to realize that a free-trade agreement with Asia is good for us all By Fareed Zakaria We live in a world without war or even significant conflict among the major powers. We also live in an age of economic growth. All of this seems normal, but in fact, it isn’t. The current global … Continue reading
Karzai’s Not-So-Crazy Endgame
The Afghan President’s bizarre behavior has rational roots in a bloody history By Fareed Zakaria Is Hamid Karzai crazy? on the face of it, the Afghan President has said lots of odd, inflammatory and contradictory things. Over the past year, he has criticized the U.S., wondered whether its presence in Afghanistan has done any good … Continue reading
Big Fuss Over a Small Deal
Critics of the agreement with the rogue state worry it may be the start of a beautiful friendship. It isn’t By Fareed Zakaria The opposition to the new agreement on Iran’s nuclear program has been predictable but still puzzling. Here’s what would have happened had there been no deal: Iran would have continued to build … Continue reading
No Deal? Don’t Just Blame Tehran
Hurdles to an agreement also come from Paris, Riyadh and Washington By Fareed Zakaria In the end, John Kerry put it best. “It takes time to build confidence between countries that have really been at odds with each other for a long time now,” said the U.S. Secretary of State. A deal between the West … Continue reading
The Saudis Are Upset? Tough!
Why we shouldn’t care that the world’s most irresponsible country is displeased with the U.S. By Fareed Zakaria America’s Middle East policies are failing, we are told, and the best evidence is that Saudi Arabia is furious. Dick Cheney, John McCain and Lindsey Graham have all sounded the alarm about Riyadh’s recent rejection of a … Continue reading
Stagecraft and Stagecraft
A deal with Iran will be difficult— but at least we know what it would contain By Fareed Zakaria Watching the diplomatic dance between Iran and the U.S. leading up to the unprecedented phone call from President Obama to President Hassan Rouhani, one had to ask, Are we seeing a replay of 1972? That was … Continue reading
Not the Time for Big Sticks
Obama should hold the bravado and respond reasonably to Iran’s conciliatory signals By Fareed Zakaria When the Obama administration was selling the case for military action against Syria, it used every argument it could come up with, from preserving international norms to preventing another Holocaust. Most of these were exaggerations or bad history, but … Continue reading
Words Have Consequences
Striking at Assad won’t end the conflict in Syria. But it may drag the U.S. into a complex civil war By Fareed Zakaria From the start of the Syrian conflict, President Obama has wanted to take two very different approaches to it. On the one hand, he has been disciplined about the definition of American … Continue reading
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