Editing the Prospect this year has meant sending a comic to fact-check, digging through AP’s photo archives to find the perfect Mickey Mouse photo, and hunting for the most ridiculous events in the District of Corruption. It’s also meant commissioning timely analysis on the state of the world. Here are some of my favorites:
Is Trump Accidentally Triggering Reconciliation in the Middle East?
By Trita Parsi
America’s irresolution, argues the executive vice president of the newly founded Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, has begun to push Saudi Arabia and Iran toward a denouement.
The U.S. Is Mistreating Children in Its Custody. Can International Law Help?
By Michael Garcia Bochenek and Warren Binford
Two lawyers report on the conditions of children at Border Patrol facilities in El Paso. “Nobody takes care of us here,” an 11-year-old boy told them.
The UAE’s Dominant Role in Trump-Era Foreign Policy
By Kate Kizer
“Thus far, the Emirates’ massive lobbying and public-relations machine … has largely shielded the Emirates from scrutiny.” A call for accountability.
Left for Scrap at Camp Leatherneck
By Christine Hannigan
The waste and destruction of Afghanistan, as experienced by a first lieutenant running logistics for the inevitable drawdown.
Go Back Where You’re From? “I’m Still Being Told That.”
By Anu Roy-Chaudhury
An interview with author Suketu Mehta, who wants to “turn the table on the debate on global migration.”
The Sleazy Career of Kurt Volker
By Robert Kuttner
Following the money behind the Trump hatchet man, who pulled a hefty private-sector salary while working as special envoy to Ukraine.
Asylum Seekers Stuck in Mexico Have Staged a Protest. These Are the Conditions They Endure.
By Marcia Brown
The so-called Remain in Mexico policy is a looming public-health crisis. The tent camp in Matamoros, Mexico, demands our attention.
And a few of my own stories …
Needed: A U.S. Policy on Saudi Arabia
My first contribution to the Prospect looks at how the Obama administration enabled Mohammed bin Salman—and what can be done, after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, to rein him in.
Never Again, Except for Right Now
My review of Times writer Bari Weiss’s screed on anti-Semitism.
Washington’s ‘Freedom Promoting’ Think Tanks That Ignore Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder
A warning to those so-called research institutes that dismiss or assist in MBS’s cover-up: We notice what you’re saying, and what you overlook.
The Sketchy Rehabilitation of George W. Bush
The Kennedy Center’s exhibition of paintings by the war-making president shows how quickly Washington can forget—and the big money that eases such forgetting.
Thanks to Sanders, Conditioning Aid to Israel Is Entering the National Conversation
“$3.8 billion is a lot of money,” the senator from Vermont said at the J Street conference. “We cannot give it carte blanche to the Israeli government …”
Egypt’s President Stomps on the Press
The real reason behind the raid on Mada Masr, Egypt’s last independent news outlet? The muckrakers covered a story that, for the country’s presidency, was too intimate.
