A war meant to bend Tehran now traps Washington The Iranian crisis now carries all the familiar features of recent Western wars: overwhelming technological superiority, deep-strike capabilities, enormous military spending and, at the same time, uncertain political results, sometimes opposite to the stated goals. The United States has…
Posts tagged as “United States”
Survival as Strategy The real issue is not Donald Trump’s declaration of victory. The real issue is that behind that declaration one can already see a strategic vacuum. Washington can strike, destroy and wear down its adversary. But it still cannot convert military superiority into a definitive political…
No Longer a Local Crisis, but a Fracture in the System In the Western narrative, the war against Iran was supposed to be rapid, surgical, almost didactic: a few well-placed strikes, some infrastructure hit, a destabilized chain of command, and the usual belief that technological and military pressure…
There is a point at which wars cease to be merely military campaigns and become systemic crises. In the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, that point has a precise name: the Strait of Hormuz. But stopping at Hormuz, essential as it is, is still not…
Iran at the Center of Systemic Competition Beyond the Immediate Trigger The current military pressure on Iran cannot be understood as a reactive episode tied to a specific provocation. It fits into a longer strategic arc that has shaped the Near and Middle East since the end of…
Repeatedly, we have highlighted on these pages the systematic interference by the United States in Italian sovereignty, including constant and systematic meddling by American intelligence agencies in the operations of their Italian counterparts under the guise of anti-communism. Benedetta Tobagi, in her recent book published by Einaudi, Segreti…
What is extraterritoriality, and why is it a threat? Extraterritoriality allows a state to apply its laws beyond its borders, often justified in the name of national interest. Under the “effects doctrine” in international law, extraterritorial application of laws is legitimate when actions conducted abroad have direct and…
Ethiopia: Unresolved Conflicts and the Risk of FragmentationThe mosaic of conflicts and tensions characterizing Ethiopia today represents a monumental challenge for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Having come to power in 2018 with great promises of reform and reconciliation, his government now faces a national crisis that extends far…
Trump and Putin: A New Path to Peace? The election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, during a moment of dramatic escalation in the conflict in Ukraine, opens new scenarios for international diplomacy. His initial moves seem aimed at negotiating a resolution, while the global…