NEW YORK — Let’s imagine that the opponents of the nuclear agreement with Iran get their way. The United States Congress kills it. What is the most likely consequence? Within one year, Iran would have more than 25,000 centrifuges, its breakout time would shrink to mere weeks, and the sanctions against it would crumble. How […]
Fareed Zakaria
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Iran’s new pathway to the modern world
NEW YORK — In selling the nuclear deal with Iran, the Obama administration has been careful to point out that it is just an agreement on nuclear issues. “[The deal] solves one particular problem,” President Obama explained in his news conference on Wednesday. And supporters and critics alike are quick to suggest that this move […]
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Dialogue the best way to defang terrorists
NEW YORK — A meeting recently near Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad could possibly mark the beginning of the end of America’s longest war — the conflict in Afghanistan, which will enter its 15th year this fall. A delegation from the Afghan government met with members of the Taliban — with Pakistani, Chinese and U.S. […]
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On national security, Rand Paul is worth a listen
NEW YORK — It turns out that Republicans in Washington are united on one issue — their hatred of Rand Paul. John McCain says that he is “the worst possible candidate … on the most important issue.” Marco Rubio opines that “he has no idea what he’s talking about.” Lindsey Graham concludes that it would […]
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Expansion of globalization cannot be stopped
SEATTLE — The two most powerful forces that have transformed the world in recent decades have been the expansion of globalization and the information revolution. These two great engines have been chugging away, integrating Asia into the global system and ushering in a digital age that is now invading every corner of life. Democratic opposition […]
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Fareed Zakaria: What happened to the rights of the accused?
NEW YORK — Reading about the short, troubled life of Freddie Gray — who suffered lead poisoning as a child, was arrested for drug offenses more than a dozen times, and eventually died in police custody nearly two weeks ago in Baltimore — I recalled a description of this world of young men, mostly black, […]
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Fareed Zakaria: The administration’s forgotten pivot to Asia
NEW YORK — The Obama administration’s foreign policy energies are fully engaged in the Middle East — negotiating the Iran deal, sending special forces into Iraq, supporting Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, working with the Syrian rebels. Whatever happened to the pivot to Asia? Remember, the basic argument behind the pivot was that the United States […]
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Fareed Zakaria: Iranian regime radical, but not irrational
NEW YORK — At the heart of the concerns surrounding the deal with Iran is a simple question: Is Iran rational? The answer for many critics of the deal is self-evident. The Iranians are “apocalyptic,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has often said, warning that you can’t “bet on their rationality.” Sen. Lindsey Graham says […]
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Fareed Zakaria: A nuclear deal is the best option
NEW YORK — When making up their minds about the nuclear deal with Iran, people are properly focused on its details. But to figure out whether an agreement that limits and inspects Iran’s nuclear program is acceptable, one has to consider seriously the alternatives to it — and there are really only two. First, a […]
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Fareed Zakaria: Netanyahu’s Peter Pan strategy on Iran
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United States Congress was eloquent, moving and intelligent in identifying the problems with the potential nuclear deal with Iran. But when describing the alternative to it, he entered Never-Neverland, painting a scenario utterly divorced from reality. Congress joined him on his fantasy ride, rapturously applauding […]