Response ·
In the Yom Kippur War, Strategic Vision Mattered Most
By Michael DoranNixon and Kissinger understood Israeli military power to be an asset to America, not a liability, and they formulated a strategy designed to exploit that power.
Michael Doran
Michael Doran is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East at the Hudson Institute. In the George W. Bush Administration, he served as a Senior Director in the National Security Council, a Senior Advisor in the State Department, and a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. He has also held teaching positions at New York University, Princeton University, and the University of Central Florida. Dr. Doran's latest book, Ike’s Gamble, was published by Free Press in 2016. He appears frequently on television, and has published extensively in Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the New York Times, Mosaic, Commentary, the American Interest and Tablet.
Latest Content
Response ·
How Israel Got Caught by Surprise in 1973 and 2023
By Michael Doran, Jonathan SilverMichael Doran, a leading analyst and author of "The Hidden Calculation Behind the Yom Kippur War," discusses his essay and the eerie resonances between 1973 and 2023.
Monthly Essay ·
The Hidden Calculation Behind the Yom Kippur War
By Michael DoranIt's long been the greatest question about the war: why Israel waited to be attacked. But what if it was convinced to wait by its closest ally, the United States?
Response ·
Why Are So Many Observers Missing Turkey’s Potential as an Israeli (and American) Ally?
By Michael DoranMost American and Israeli foreign-policy thinkers are blind to what's really going on in Turkey, the opportunities there are, and the challenges it presents.
Response ·
Michael Doran and Ze’ev Maghen Think about Iran and its Revolutionary Regime
By Michael Doran, Jonathan SilverWith a new nuclear deal looming, two experts met to discuss what it means, and to think more broadly about the nature of Iran's radical leadership.
Response ·
Saving Israel in Spite of Herself
By Michael DoranWhen Americans take a position on Israel, they're not simply talking about Israel. They're also talking about America’s moral character.
Observation ·
What Iran Is Really Up To
By Michael DoranDesperate to preserve the nuclear deal, Iran with the help of its Western friends is creating just enough turmoil to make America, and not it, appear eager for war.
Response ·
Getting Smart about America’s Middle East Policy
By Michael DoranAs a strategic concept, defeating the Iranian-led order plays to America’s strengths, serves its vital interests, and is poised to attract the support of its traditional allies.
Monthly Essay ·
The Strategy Washington Is Pursuing in the Middle East Is the Only Strategy Worth Pursuing
By Michael DoranAmerica needs to back up its allies (Israel, Saudi Arabia, and potentially Turkey), and isolate its adversaries (Iran, Russia, China, Islamic State). Everything else is secondary.
Observation ·
With the Death of Bernard Lewis, the Age of Academic Giants Has Come to an End
By Michael DoranProfessional study of Middle East history now belongs to incompetents and political agitators.
Response ·
How WW II American Leaders in North Africa Learned to Disregard the Interests of Jews
By Michael DoranOld fashioned anti-Semitism played a role, but the greater part had to do with a fear, justified or not, of provoking the Arabs.
Response ·
Iran Must be Contained, but Iran Must Also Not be Viewed in Isolation
By Michael Doran, Peter RoughAmerica needs to form as broad an international coalition against Tehran as possible—and simultaneously to develop a strategy for the Middle East as a whole.
Monthly Essay ·
What America Should Do Next in the Middle East
By Michael Doran, Peter RoughThe policies of the Obama administration led to carnage in Syria, regional chaos, and the rise of Iran and its alliance with Russia. Can the momentum be reversed—without going to war?
Observation ·
Ike vs. Obama in the Middle East
By Michael DoranOne of them learned from his mistakes, re-examined his fundamental assumptions, and changed course as necessary.
Response ·
All the President’s Blunders
By Michael DoranPresident Obama's foreign policy failures—Iran, Syria, Russia—aren't accidents. They're rooted in flawed theories and misguided judgments.
Monthly Essay ·
Our Man in Moscow
By Michael DoranVladimir Putin's major new role in the Middle East is no accident. It's part and parcel of President Obama's broader strategy.
Observation ·
How to Destroy Islamic State (and How Not To)
By Michael Doran, Michael Pregent, Eric Brown, Peter RoughWhy has a ragtag force been able to hold out against the most powerful country in the world? Because America's regional strategy is based on false precepts.
Observation ·
Who Bamboozled Whom?
By Michael DoranThose who think the Iranians outwitted us fail to recognize one very important thing: the White House never intended to contain Iran.
Observation ·
How Israel Got Taken
By Michael DoranThe new memoir by Michael Oren, Israel's former ambassador to Washington, tells all—except for one thing.
Observation ·
A Letter to My Liberal Jewish Friends
By Michael DoranThe president’s address last week to Congregation Adas Israel as “an honorary member of the tribe” was something other than it seemed.
Observation ·
Fiction and Foreign Policy
By Michael DoranTo the president, foreign policy isn't just about safeguarding the country. It's also, as the Iran deal makes clear, about fashioning a creative personal narrative of the effort.
Observation ·
The Tectonic Shift in Obama’s Iran Policy
By Michael DoranA nuclear deal is only the beginning. The president's goal, at the expense of America's allies, is full-fledged détente with Iran.
Response ·
No Policy Like an Iran Policy
By Michael DoranEven his former adviser agrees that the president's Iran policy is collapsing. Can anything be done, or is it too late?
Monthly Essay ·
Obama’s Secret Iran Strategy
By Michael DoranThe president has long been criticized for his lack of strategic vision. But what if a strategy, centered on Iran, has been in place from the start and consistently followed to this day?
Observation ·
The Silent Partnership
By Michael DoranHow the president has exploited the international campaign against IS in order to accommodate Iran.
Response ·
What Now for the United States?
By Michael DoranHow America can help the new Arab-Israel alliance to resist IS and stabilize the Middle East.
Observation ·
What Was He Thinking?
By Michael DoranBy seeking reconciliation with Iran, Washington alienates its allies and contributes to ever greater mayhem in the Middle East.
Observation ·
The New Middle East War
By Michael DoranA single conflict now stretches from Baghdad to Beirut. How many sides are there—and whose side is the U.S. on?
Observation ·
Mourning Fouad Ajami
By Michael DoranNobody could match him as an interpreter of the Arab Middle East—or as a deft and witty scourge of his academic opponents.
Observation ·
Why the Peace Process Will Continue
By Michael DoranFor the Obama administration, it’s a means toward a different end.
