Photo of Jim Mattis

Pentagon in Its Longest-Ever Stretch of Leadership Limbo

WASHINGTON — When he resigned as defense secretary last December, Jim Mattis thought it might take two months to install a successor. That seemed terribly long at the time. "It is needlessly disruptive to have a leadership vacuum for so long at the Departme...
Photo of a carpet merchant in Iran

Iranians Say US Sanctions Hurt the People, Not Government

TEHRAN, Iran — While opinions differ across Tehran's Grand Bazaar about the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran over its unraveling nuclear deal, there's one thing those in the beating heart of Iran's capital city agree on: American sanctions hurt the a...
Photo of President Donald Trump

Analysis: Trump Moves Show Him to Be Unreliable Partner

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's abrupt decision against military strikes may have prevented open military conflict with Iran, but it also showed him anew to be an unpredictable, unreliable, partner at home and abroad. "I think a lot of restraint has b...
Photo of Secretary of the Army Mark Esper

Pentagon Without a Chief as US Faces Numerous Global Threats

WASHINGTON — It's a difficult time for the Pentagon to be without a permanent U.S. defense secretary. "With everything going on in Iran and all the provocations and counteractions, and to have no Secretary of Defense at this time is appalling. It shows the ...