Louis René Beres
Nuclear Treaty Abrogation Imperils Global Security
LAFAYETTE: Donald Trump’s proposed abrogation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty reveals once again his dangerous lack of preparation for dealing with urgent strategic matters. There is no discernible logic to his argument that...
Conspicuous irony: Lecturing to a Trump rally against ‘mob rule’
Since the Kavanaugh hearings and controversy, President Trump has lectured his rally audiences about dangers of mob rule. Ironically, from the standpoint of the Founding Fathers and their fears about "The People," these Trump rally audiences constitute the best...
Empathy and intelligence — a last opportunity for reconciliation
While stunningly counterintuitive, the critical gap between technical intelligence and human empathy is more insidious than ever before. In response, one fundamental question should spring immediately to mind: What has created such a strange...
Terrorism and Psychopathology: Understanding the Vital Differences
Nowadays, too-little analytic effort in Jerusalem and Washington distinguishes between genuine terrorism – which is always connected to some conspicuous elements of the political – and violence animated by psychiatric disorder. In essence, this...
The Seductive Appeal of Jihadist Terror in Israel — and Around the World
While the professional literature on terrorism and counter-terrorism devotes considerable attention to martyrdom and jihad, not much has pertained to critically underlying promises of immortality. Nonetheless, it is precisely the cumulative appeal of these...
Looking Backward with Purpose: Ancient Chinese Insights for US Nuclear Strategy
In certain matters of serious scholarship, there are times when looking backward can prove distinctly progressive. In this regard, Sun-Tzu's classic text, The Art of War, still brings together a timeless compilation of pertinent...
Palestinian “Sacredness” and the Law of Armed Conflict
Israel’s Palestinian foes regard “martyrdom” as the supremely highest expression of Islamic sacredness. Nonetheless, there are certain conspicuously prominent disjunctions between the relevant obligations of faith and expectations of international law. Unambiguously, only the...
Why ‘America First’ Will Never Protect America
In the 17th century, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously warned against growing conditions of anarchy in world politics, conditions that he associated with a devastating “war of all against all.” Appearing in Leviathan, this prescient...
To Grow Together With Other States: An American Imperative
“The egocentric ideal of a future reserved for those who have managed to attain egoistically the extremity of everyone for himself is false and against nature.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man
Ominously, Donald Trump’s retrograde ideas...
Unhidden Risks of US Nuclear Command Authority
At a moment when the Trump presidency is plainly in steep decline, the ultimate hazard remains markedly nuclear. In essence, there are now various plausible reasons to fear that this president could sometime make...