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Michael Doran

Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the author of Ike’s Gamble: America’s Rise to Dominance in the Middle East (2016), is a former deputy assistant secretary of defense and a former senior director of the National Security Council. He tweets @doranimated.

Podcast: Michael Doran on the Ambiguities in Biden's Middle East Strategy

The veteran foreign-policy analyst thinks the Biden administration is both strengthening Israeli security and facilitating the greatest threat to it. Can both be true?

June 23 2023 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on Iran's Growing Military Dominance in the Middle East

The foreign-policy analyst joins us to talk about his recent essay “Overmatch.”

Nov. 11 2022 1:33AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on the Most Strategically Valuable Country You've Never Heard Of

Situated between Russia and Iran, Azerbaijan could be a key partner in the struggle for Eurasia. And a stronger alliance between Washington and Baku could benefit Jerusalem, too.

Feb. 4 2022 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on America's Strategic Realignment in the Middle East

The analyst joins us to talk about his essay explaining why President Biden seeks to downgrade allies and elevate adversaries in the Middle East.

May 21 2021 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on China’s Drive for Middle Eastern Supremacy

The foreign-policy expert joins us to explain how China seeks hard power and not just economic influence in the region.

Aug. 6 2020 12:32AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on China’s Drive for Middle Eastern Supremacy

The foreign-policy expert joins us to explain how China seeks hard power and not just economic influence in the region.

Aug. 6 2020 12:32AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on Why the Coronavirus Is Hitting Iran so Hard

The foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about how things there have got so bad, what the regime is thinking, and what it means for tensions with America.

April 2 2020 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on Why the Coronavirus Is Hitting Iran so Hard

The foreign-policy expert joins us to talk about how things there have got so bad, what the regime is thinking, and what it means for tensions with America.

April 2 2020 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on America’s Standoff with Iran

The Middle East analyst stops by to talk about his recent blockbuster essay in Mosaic.

June 27 2019 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on America’s Standoff with Iran

The Middle East analyst stops by to talk about his recent blockbuster essay in Mosaic.

June 27 2019 12:01AM

What Iran Is Really Up To

Desperate to preserve the nuclear deal, Iran with the help of its Western friends is creating just enough turmoil to make America, and not it, appear eager for war.

June 24 2019 12:01AM

What Iran Is Really Up To

Desperate to preserve the nuclear deal, Iran with the help of its Western friends is creating just enough turmoil to make America, and not it, appear eager for war.

June 24 2019 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on Keeping Our Eye on the Ball in the Middle East

Mosaic’s key foreign-policy analyst elaborates on his latest big essay.

Feb. 21 2019 12:01AM

Podcast: Michael Doran on Keeping Our Eye on the Ball in the Middle East

Mosaic’s key foreign-policy analyst elaborates on his latest big essay.

Feb. 21 2019 12:01AM

Getting Smart about America's Middle East Policy

As a strategic concept, defeating the Iranian-led order plays to America’s strengths, serves its vital interests, and is poised to attract the support of its traditional allies.

Jan. 28 2019 12:01AM

The Strategy Washington Is Pursuing in the Middle East Is the Only Strategy Worth Pursuing

America needs to back up its allies (Israel, Saudi Arabia, and potentially Turkey), and isolate its adversaries (Iran, Russia, China, Islamic State). Everything else is secondary.

Jan. 7 2019 12:01AM

With the Death of Bernard Lewis, the Age of Academic Giants Has Come to an End

Professional study of Middle East history now belongs to incompetents and political agitators.

June 6 2018 12:01AM

With the Death of Bernard Lewis, the Age of Academic Giants Has Come to an End

Professional study of Middle East history now belongs to incompetents and political agitators.

June 6 2018 12:01AM

How WW II American Leaders in North Africa Learned to Disregard the Interests of Jews

Old fashioned anti-Semitism played a role, but the greater part had to do with a fear, justified or not, of provoking the Arabs.

Oct. 16 2017 12:01AM

Iran Must be Contained, but Iran Must Also Not be Viewed in Isolation

America needs to form as broad an international coalition against Tehran as possible—and simultaneously to develop a strategy for the Middle East as a whole.

Sept. 28 2017 12:01AM

What America Should Do Next in the Middle East

The policies of the Obama administration led to carnage in Syria, regional chaos, and the rise of Iran and its alliance with Russia. Can the momentum be reversed—without going to war?

Sept. 5 2017 12:01AM

Ike vs. Obama in the Middle East

One of them learned from his mistakes, re-examined his fundamental assumptions, and changed course as necessary.

Oct. 11 2016 12:01AM

Ike vs. Obama in the Middle East

One of them learned from his mistakes, re-examined his fundamental assumptions, and changed course as necessary.

Oct. 11 2016 12:01AM

All the President's Blunders

President Obama’s foreign policy failures—Iran, Syria, Russia—aren’t accidents. They’re rooted in flawed theories and misguided judgments.

Dec. 23 2015 12:01AM

Our Man in Moscow

Vladimir Putin’s major new role in the Middle East is no accident. It’s part and parcel of President Obama’s broader strategy.

Dec. 1 2015 12:01AM

How to Destroy Islamic State (and How Not To)

Why has a ragtag force been able to hold out against the most powerful country in the world? Because America’s regional strategy is based on false precepts.

Sept. 3 2015 12:01AM

How to Destroy Islamic State (and How Not To)

Why has a ragtag force been able to hold out against the most powerful country in the world? Because America’s regional strategy is based on false precepts.

Sept. 3 2015 12:01AM

Who Bamboozled Whom?

Those who think the Iranians outwitted us fail to recognize one very important thing: the White House never intended to contain Iran.

July 30 2015 12:01AM

Who Bamboozled Whom?

Those who think the Iranians outwitted us fail to recognize one very important thing: the White House never intended to contain Iran.

July 30 2015 12:01AM

How Israel Got Taken

The new memoir by Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to Washington, tells all—except for one thing.

July 1 2015 12:01AM

How Israel Got Taken

The new memoir by Michael Oren, Israel’s former ambassador to Washington, tells all—except for one thing.

July 1 2015 12:01AM

A Letter to My Liberal Jewish Friends

The president’s address last week to Congregation Adas Israel as “an honorary member of the tribe” was something other than it seemed.

May 28 2015 12:01AM

A Letter to My Liberal Jewish Friends

The president’s address last week to Congregation Adas Israel as “an honorary member of the tribe” was something other than it seemed.

May 28 2015 12:01AM

Fiction and Foreign Policy

To the president, foreign policy isn’t just about safeguarding the country. It’s also, as the Iran deal makes clear, about fashioning a creative personal narrative of the effort.

May 19 2015 12:01AM

Fiction and Foreign Policy

To the president, foreign policy isn’t just about safeguarding the country. It’s also, as the Iran deal makes clear, about fashioning a creative personal narrative of the effort.

May 19 2015 12:01AM

The Tectonic Shift in Obama's Iran Policy

A nuclear deal is only the beginning. The president’s goal, at the expense of America’s allies, is full-fledged détente with Iran.

April 22 2015 12:01AM

The Tectonic Shift in Obama's Iran Policy

A nuclear deal is only the beginning. The president’s goal, at the expense of America’s allies, is full-fledged détente with Iran.

April 22 2015 12:01AM

No Policy Like an Iran Policy

Even his former adviser agrees that the president’s Iran policy is collapsing. Can anything be done, or is it too late?

Feb. 24 2015 12:01AM

Obama's Secret Iran Strategy

The president has long been criticized for his lack of strategic vision. But what if a strategy, centered on Iran, has been in place from the start and consistently followed to this day?

Feb. 2 2015 12:01AM

The Silent Partnership

How the president has exploited the international campaign against IS in order to accommodate Iran.

Oct. 15 2014 5:00AM

The Silent Partnership

How the president has exploited the international campaign against IS in order to accommodate Iran.

Oct. 15 2014 5:00AM

What Now for the United States?

How America can help the new Arab-Israel alliance to resist IS and stabilize the Middle East.

Sept. 17 2014 7:16PM

What Was He Thinking?

By seeking reconciliation with Iran, Washington alienates its allies and contributes to ever greater mayhem in the Middle East.
Aug. 6 2014 12:01AM

What Was He Thinking?

By seeking reconciliation with Iran, Washington alienates its allies and contributes to ever greater mayhem in the Middle East.
Aug. 6 2014 12:01AM

The New Middle East War

A single conflict now stretches from Baghdad to Beirut. How many sides are there—and whose side is the U.S. on?
July 2 2014 5:22PM

The New Middle East War

A single conflict now stretches from Baghdad to Beirut. How many sides are there—and whose side is the U.S. on?
July 2 2014 5:22PM

Mourning Fouad Ajami

Nobody could match him as an interpreter of the Arab Middle East—or as a deft and witty scourge of his academic opponents.
June 26 2014 5:40PM

Mourning Fouad Ajami

Nobody could match him as an interpreter of the Arab Middle East—or as a deft and witty scourge of his academic opponents.
June 26 2014 5:40PM

Why the Peace Process Will Continue

For the Obama administration, it’s a means toward a different end.
May 18 2014 8:00PM

Why the Peace Process Will Continue

For the Obama administration, it’s a means toward a different end.
May 18 2014 8:00PM

It's Not Just Ukraine

What his actions in Eastern Europe tell us about how Vladimir Putin sees the Middle East.
March 26 2014 12:05AM

It's Not Just Ukraine

What his actions in Eastern Europe tell us about how Vladimir Putin sees the Middle East.
March 26 2014 12:05AM

Pass the Fig Leaf, Please

The president’s true message to Assad, Putin, and Khamenei: Get me out of here.
March 11 2014 2:00AM

Pass the Fig Leaf, Please

The president’s true message to Assad, Putin, and Khamenei: Get me out of here.
March 11 2014 2:00AM

“I Don’t Bluff”

Suppose the president never intended to roll back Iran’s nuclear program. How then would he proceed?
Feb. 6 2014 5:00AM

“I Don’t Bluff”

Suppose the president never intended to roll back Iran’s nuclear program. How then would he proceed?
Feb. 6 2014 5:00AM

What Would Ben-Gurion Do

. . . if he were caught between the rise of al-Qaeda and Iran and the decline of the United States?

Jan. 12 2014 8:40PM