Louis René Beres
“America First” as a Matter of Law
“There is no longer a virtuous nation, and the best of us live by candlelight.” -William Butler Yeats
From the beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump has presumed a hard and fast distinction between America’s national...
Saving America: Donald Trump Is the Symptom, Not the Illness
Despite endless reassurances to the contrary, America’s core problems can never be fixed by ritualized political activity or elections. In essence, no American government — no president, no Congress, no hyper-adrenalized promises of “change”...
Targeting Jihadist Terrorists: Identifying Pertinent Legal Guidelines
Targeted killing campaigns are still accelerating under the Trump administration, with fewer constraints and even less transparency. More precisely, it seems that the Obama-era Presidential Policy Guidance has been relaxed in two very meaningful ways: targets...
Creating a Seamless Strategic Deterrent: An Israel Case Study
“Theories are nets: only he who casts will catch.”
— Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery
For beleaguered states in world politics, planning to defend against a security threat must take into account the precise nature...
Targeting terrorist leaders in Gaza and international law
"Each state is expected to aid and enforce the law of nations, as part of the common law, by inflicting an adequate punishment upon the offenses against that universal law." - William Blackstone, Commentaries on...
Are terrorists normal? On Nazis, Hamas, al Qaeda, et al
"Are they normal?" It's not a usual question for commanders or strategic planners. Still, to some reasonable and ascertainable extent, this complex question could be applied to virtually any adversary in war, or at least...
Israel’s Strategic Context: Anarchy and Chaos in the “State of Nature”
"There aren't any grownups. We shall have to look after ourselves." (William Golding, Lord of the Flies)
Scholars and policy-makers who examine Israel's constantly changing strategic options may devote too little attention to context. Here, rather than consider anarchy and chaos as important...
Human Shields and Perfidy: Addressing Illegal Conduct in Operations
Misusing protected persons in war presents real and present challenges in the Middle East
Remember Saddam Hussein’s use of human shields during the Persian Gulf War? His illegal and contemptible movement of innocent civilians to military...
After the Mueller Report
Donald Trump remains oddly deferential to Russian President Vladimir Putin amid the growing animosity between Washington and Moscow – with virulence highlighted by Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty termination and an accelerating nuclear arms race....
Beyond Realpolitik: Israel’s Strategic Imperatives
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: For all nation-states, but especially the most powerful or influential, success must be measured along two separate dimensions: present and future. Although Israeli leaders may correctly calculate that their country is doing...