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August 12, 2026
 

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Marc Champion
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. drone on a wall of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The U.S. cannot force a decisive victory over Iran because modern technology has eroded America's military dominance.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2026
A misdiagnosis of U.S. failings leaves Trump stuck in Iran
Iran has demonstrated already that, should Trump fulfill his threats to destroy the nation¡¯s infrastructure, it has the capacity to do the same to America¡¯s Gulf allies.
U.S. President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after arriving in Riyadh in May 2025.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 31, 2026
Trump¡¯s Saudi nuclear deal is too important to lie about
The Saudi nuclear deal is in the same way designed to solve a tactical problem precipitated by the Iran war.
Mourners attend a funeral procession for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb. 28 in Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, in Qom, Iran, on July 7.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 13, 2026
Ali Khamenei was a monster. The U.S. made him a martyr.
For IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi and other regime leaders, this funeral was probably more important than their 60-day negotiations with the U.S.
A man holding a Polish national flag lights a candle at the site of a mass burial of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II in the former Polish village of Puznyky, Ukraine, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2026
Ukraine can¡¯t afford a breakup with Poland over history
This is reckless statecraft at the service of domestic politics on both sides ¡ª only Poland isn¡¯t at war.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a news conference after a meeting at Trump¡¯s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, in December.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 12, 2026
The U.S. and Israel can¡¯t hide their differences on Iran
The cause of their dispute is, on the surface, simple. Israel says the April ceasefire between Tehran and Washington did not cover Lebanon.
As drone warfare reshapes the Ukraine conflict and the nature of the fighting, Europe is facing pressure to support Kyiv while building its own long-term strategy and security framework separate from the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2026
The Ukrainians are doing better, now it¡¯s the Europeans¡¯ turn
Overall, the nature of the battlefield has changed in ways that blunt Russia¡¯s overwhelming advantages in manpower, artillery and armor.
Mutual overconfidence and strategic miscalculation by both the U.S. and Iran are making renewed war increasingly likely because neither side fully understands the other¡¯s strengths, weaknesses or willingness to endure pain.
COMMENTARY / World
May 13, 2026
The risk of the Iran war restarting is irrationally high
So long as the ceasefire holds and Hormuz remains blocked, the conflict is now a test of how well each side can withstand the economic and political strain inflicted by the other.
A man passes a mural on a wall in Tehran after U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, on April 8.
COMMENTARY / World
May 11, 2026
If Iran agrees to everything, was the war worth it?
The strongest argument against the reported U.S. proposal is that it would leave Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz.
Donald Trump's decades-long unchanging foreign policy approach, combined with erratic behavior, has amplified risks and confusion in U.S. dealings with Russia, Iran and the wider world.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 24, 2026
We¡¯re all trapped in Trump¡¯s 1980s worldview
Current events provide a vivid example of how Trump¡¯s failure to evolve distorts policy making.
People mourn the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint U.S. and Israeli strikes, in Tehran on Sunday.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 1, 2026
Trump¡¯s ambitions for Iran: He wants everything.
Yet the most ambitious goal, and the one that must be achieved to make sense of all the others, was regime change.
Locals hold a Ukrainian flag on a destroyed bridge in Irpin, Ukraine, during a memorial ceremony on Tuesday marking the fourth anniversary of Russia¡¯s invasion.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 27, 2026
Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine has already changed the world
Russia¡¯s record in this tragedy is less inspiring. The war has been the catastrophe that even many in the Kremlin feared.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a news conference following their meeting to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine in Anchorage, Alaska, in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2026
Putin has weaponized the peace talks. The U.S. can stop him
More than a year into negotiations that President Donald Trump said would take him 24 hours to resolve, the recent talks in Dubai produced nothing beyond a prisoner swap.
A woman walks past a mural depicting a U.S. drone on a wall of the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s mixed signals on Iran raise doubts that Washington has a clear strategy or enough understanding of the country to manage the consequences of military action.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 6, 2026
On Iran, U.S. needs a little more data and a lot less hubris
Responses from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his officials have ranged from let¡¯s talk (about nuclear) to forget about it and make my day.
As Russia¡¯s invasion of Ukraine continues, Vladimir Putin¡¯s reluctance to engage with global crises, such as America's actions in Venezuela, reveals his limited ability to assert Russian power on the world stage.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2026
Putin¡¯s recent silence is worrying
It¡¯s hard to know exactly what Russians think, as reporting there is strictly limited.
Then-Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi meets with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in Tehran in June 2022.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 11, 2026
America¡¯s Venezuela playbook won¡¯t work in Iran
Whether the Islamic Republic is ripe to fall from an external U.S. or Israeli nudge is a complicated question.
A Danish flag flutters next to a statue of Hans Egede, a Norwegian missionary who revitalized Danish-Norwegian ties to the island, in Nuuk, Greenland.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 9, 2026
The Greenland alarm is sounding ¡ª Europe needs to hear it
Greenland has a landmass three times the size of Texas under which there are thought to be large quantities of untapped rare earths, among other minerals that Trump wants.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, in August for peace talks on ending the war in Ukraine.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2026
¡®The West¡¯ is near death. It¡¯s also worth fighting for.
So, no, the West doesn¡¯t stretch back to ancient Greece, because the ancient Greeks never mentioned it or conceived of it.
Whether it's within NATO or through bespoke coalitions, Europe must coordinate its military and diplomatic efforts to deter aggression, protect allies, and ensure it can project power effectively beyond the EU¡¯s highly regulated and limiting institutions.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 3, 2025
The EU is the wrong power player for Ukraine
Europe lacks the institutions, resources and political cohesion to defend against Russia and China, leaving NATO, bespoke coalitions and individual nations to fill the gap.
U.S. Marines at Air Station Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture demonstrate the Typhon ground-launched missile system in September. Capable of launching land-based Tomahawks, it has already been deployed in global exercises, proving that the technical challenges often cited as an excuse to withhold Tomahawks from Ukraine are unfounded.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 27, 2025
Sanctions or Tomahawks? Only credible threats will convince Putin.
A lack of resolve and realism in the West has encouraged Putin to believe he need only wait until Ukraine¡¯s backers fail it and he¡¯ll be able to achieve his maximalist goals.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin meet in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15. Putin is growing vulnerable, but Trump¡¯s wavering and Europe¡¯s divisions risk wasting the chance to end the Ukraine war.
COMMENTARY
Sep 17, 2025
Did Putin finally overplay his hand with Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin grows vulnerable, but Donald Trump¡¯s wavering and Europe¡¯s divisions risk squandering the chance to force an end to the war.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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