Opinions

Louis René Beres

Pro-ISIS demonstrators in Mosul (Archive photo: AP)

The US "Defeat" of ISIS: An Improbable Victory

President Donald Trump's announced "defeat" of ISIS was premature. Even more worrisome, it ignored that the key threat to America and its key allies (especially Israel) is not this particular terrorist group, but rather a still expanding and always underlying jihadist ideology. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 27/11/2018 Contact author

US President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, March 2018 (Photo: AP)

Justifying Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi Murder: An Egregious Violation of International Law

Whatever happens with US foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia will likely have security reverberations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Accordingly, Israeli planners will need to assess the probable impact of President Trump’s recent apologies for Riyadh's behavior regarding the Khashoggi murder in Istanbul. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 25/11/2018 Contact author

Trump and Netanyahu (Photo: AP)

Donald Trump, National Security and Nuclear War

More than anything else, the current American president’s capacity to handle nuclear crises (both expected and unexpected) will impact US national security. Derivatively, this capacity could also affect the security of certain major American allies, including Israel. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 2/10/2018 Contact author

A Hamas militant in Gaza City (Photo: AP)

Terrorism and Psychopathology: Understanding the Vital Differences

The line of demarcation between authentic terrorism and mental illness is irremediably unclear. Nonetheless, going forward, decision-makers in both Jerusalem and Washington will need to more diligently correlate principal counterterrorist policies with pertinent causal factors. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 24/09/2018 Contact author

Hamas militants dressed as suicide bombers (Photo: AP)

Palestinian “Sacredness” and the Law of Armed Conflict

Under pertinent international law, permissible behavior can never stem from overtly wrongful behavior. It follows, inter alia, that insistent Palestinian pleas for “martyrdom” must necessarily represent calls for illegal expressions of force against Israel. Always, in these matters, what is sacred to the Palestinian side is also grievously unlawful. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 9/09/2018 Contact author

Photo: AP

Unhidden Risks of US Nuclear Command Authority

As the increasingly problematic Trump presidency sinks even more deeply into chaos and decisional incoherence, the most worrisome risks will center on nuclear command authority. In principle, at least, these overriding risks could impact principal US allies, including Israel. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 27/08/2018 Contact author

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: AP)

Selective Nuclear Disclosure and Israel's Strategic Deterrence

Prof. Louis René Beres argues it is time for Israel to think more seriously about a suitably refined and incremental end to "deliberate nuclear ambiguity," especially concerning an optimally comprehensive and seamless strategy of deterrence. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 29/07/2018 Contact author

Photo: IDF

Madness, Irrationality, and the Logic of Deterrence

In the final analysis, Israel's capacity to secure itself from determinedly existential threats will require a clear assessment of enemy strategic disposition and a willingness to link this indispensable capacity to analytic or intellectual tasks. Opinion

Louis René Beres | 11/07/2018 Contact author