Max Boot

commentary | Articles

A New Map For The Middle East?

On May 16, 1916, representatives of Great Britain and France signed an agreement that had been negotiated by Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot to divide up the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence after the end of the Great War and the destruction of the Ottoman Empire.

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Bread And Mosques

There are some individuals—Donald Trump is now the most prominent—who seem to believe that a “population-centric” counterinsurgency is a waste of time. They don’t see the point of trying to win over the inhabitants and they reject the idea that counterinsurgency is essentially a governance contest. They believe that the way to win is by killing a lot of people. Kill enough, and there won’t be any more insurgents to oppose you.

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U.S. Elections And The Future Of The Iran Nuclear Deal

January 16, 2016, was a milestone in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It was the day that the nuclear deal with the United States was implemented and most sanctions on Iran were lifted. Iran immediately received access to more than $100 billion in frozen oil funds, and that’s only the beginning of the bonanza. 

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Tiger in the Barbed Wire: An American in Vietnam, 1952-1991, by Howard R. Simpson (1994)

Howard R. Simpson is one of the best memoirists you probably have never heard of—unless you happen to be a historian of the Vietnam War. He was a Foreign Service officer who worked for the U.S. Information Agency and, after retirement, became a novelist. 

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Sword of Honour trilogy, by Evelyn Waugh (1952, 1955, 1961)

Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy—comprising Men at Arms, Officers and Gentlemen, and The End of the Battle [originally published in England as Unconditional Surrender]—was published between 1952 and 1961. 

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The Centurions, by Jean Lartéguy (1961 [1962])

This is a classic novel that became a cult favorite among American soldiers who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Originally published in French in 1960, it was for years hard to find in its English edition (translated by the World War II British commando Xan Fielding); a used copy would go for $800 on Amazon. 

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Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph, by T.E. Lawrence (1922)

The cult of celebrity around T.E. Lawrence was created by the American journalist Lowell Thomas immediately after World War I and expanded with the 1962 release of David Lean’s magnificent film Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O’Toole. Seven Pillars of Wisdom is one of the greatest books to come out of World War I.

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Obama’s Intentionally Divisive Iran Nuclear Deal Rhetoric

Last week Senator Chuck Schumer, the presumptive next leader of the Democrats in the Senate, announced that he was going to vote against the Iran nuclear deal.

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Why is the Iran deal bad? Think North Korea.

Is Iran more like North Korea or Libya? That is the question politicians and the public must ask themselves as they consider President Obama's nuclear deal.

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The Dawn of Iranian Empire

By now, after months of leaks following the initial agreement on April 2, the broad outlines of the deal with Iran are already familiar.

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Even With Technological Change, Some Things Never Change

The world’s militaries—and especially the most advanced military in the world, that of the United States—are now caught in the vortex of technological change.

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National Insecurity

It is inevitable that U.S. naval, air, and ground strength will be downsized in the years ahead.

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ISIS: More Than Just A Terrorist Organization

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has been dominating headlines for the past year and more. But what manner of organization is it? Is it a terrorist group, a guerrilla group, or something else? The answers to those questions, rooted in the study of military history, may hold the key to defeating the evil that is ISIS.

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No Need To Declare War Against Our Current Enemy

Congress is now debating President Obama’s proposed Authorization for the Use of Limited Military Force to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Yet the president’s request for this action from Congress comes more than six months after U.S. aircraft began bombing ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria...

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Inaction in Ukraine Sets a Dangerous Precedent

The U.S. and Europe have been slow and hesitant in countering Vladimir Putin’s outrageous land grab in Ukraine. If allowed to stand, Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its ability to wrest the eastern part of the country from Kiev’s control will set a dangerous precedent that will encourage aggression by China and other states. A more serious counter to Russia’s actions is necessary.

research | Essays

Friends, Enemies, and 'Frenemies'

The United States has few stalwart friends in the greater Middle East; even nominally allied states such as Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan play a double game. The United States needs to make clear to them the costs of flirting with Islamists while trying to broaden the coalition to include substate actors such as the Sunni tribes of Iraq.

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War From On High

President Obama has adopted a “light footprint” approach to battling the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and other terrorist groups. Essentially this means putting few if any American “boots on the ground,” and instead relying on training and arming proxy forces such as the Yemeni, Pakistani, or the Iraqi military while staging air strikes to eliminate terrorist leaders. How well has this approach worked historically?

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American Sniper, American Marines, Iraqi Army

Clint Eastwood’s film American Sniper has become a popular if controversial sensation. Critics accuse it of glamorizing Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, while many have rushed to Kyle’s and the movie’s defense. But one aspect of the debate has gone largely unexamined: How historically accurate is the film?

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Contentions Obama vs. the Generals

I have been writing in recent days that President Obama’s halfhearted strategy to battle ISIS–authorizing only a few air strikes and ruling out “boots on the ground”–may degrade the group but will not destroy it. A more robust effort is needed, I believe, to confront this cancer growing in the Middle East.

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How to Safeguard Afghan Progress

The U.S. could use a win abroad—something it arguably hasn't had since Osama bin Laden's demise in 2011.

commentary | Podcasts

Strategika: “Is Failure in Afghanistan Inevitable?” with Max Boot

Max Boot looks at Afghanistan’s history as the “graveyard of empires” and considers whether America still stands a chance of succeeding there.

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Afghanistan—Graveyard of Empires?

Poster Collection, INT 503, Hoover Institution Archives. Afghanistan long ago became known as the “graveyard of empires.” But while it is undoubtedly a tough place to fight and a tough place to control, its reputation is vastly overblown. In fact the last two empires to try to dominate Afghanistan—the British and Soviet—largely succeeded in achieving their objectives even after pulling their troops out as long as they were willing to keep extending aid to Kabul.

commentary | Podcasts

What do the Islamists Want?

The Council on Foreign Relations’ Max Boot looks at historical lessons in understanding the motivations behind radical Islam.

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Strategika: What Do The Jihadists Want?

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Lessons from Chechnya’s Long History of Jihadism

Terence White Collection, OAC 2002C71. Hoover Institution Archives. What do jihadists want? Simple: power. The power to impose their own extreme version of Shari’a law. But that is not what most Muslims want. For the most part they want the same things as non-Muslims: jobs, education, families, a higher standard of living, peace, and security. Therein lies both the power and the weakness of jihadist extremists: they are strong because they are motivated by religious certitude, but at the same time they are weak because their program is too austere to be popular when actually implemented even in traditional Muslim societies. If properly exploited by a skilled adversary, this weakness can turn out to be fatal.

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Savage Wars of Peace

Much as we dislike doing so, when necessary we must send our military forces on peacekeeping missions and into regional conflicts. And in the war on terror, it will be necessary. By Max Boot.

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A Clear-Eyed Assessment of ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is certainly a growing menace–in fact the most immediate threat that we face in the Middle East.

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A Strategy for Defeating ISIS in Syria and Iraq

Security Situation in Iraq and Syria: U.S. Policy Options and Implications for the Region

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Time to Annihilate ISIS; Here’s How

The videotaped beheading of American journalist James Foley reveals both the barbarism and the weakness of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).

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Another Iraq war is coming – the only question is whether we want to win

A successful military intervention isn't just possible; it's essential

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The Defense Budget vs. History

Traditionally, military planners have operated under a worst-case scenario: i.e., what do we need to have in place to respond if nothing goes as planned?