menu_open
Fred Kaplan

Fred Kaplan

Slate

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Mike Johnson Is No Hero

Tweet Share Share Comment Before House Speaker Mike Johnson basks too deeply in the praise he’s received for bringing the...

22.04.2024 20

Slate

Fred Kaplan

A Rare Bit of Calming News About Israel and Iran

Tweet Share Share Comment A rare bit of calming news from the Middle East: It seems that neither Israel nor Iran wants to widen...

19.04.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

How Israel Can Respond to Iran Without Escalating the War

Tweet Share Share Comment Here’s an idea for how Israel could respond to Iran’s massive missile-and-drone strike without...

15.04.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Iran Is Planning to Strike Back Against Israel. There Are a Few Ways This Could Go.

Tweet Share Share Comment This stands to be a particularly tense week in the Middle East, even by the standards of an already...

08.04.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Real Reason Biden Is Finally Tying U.S. Policy to Israel’s Behavior in the War

Tweet Share Share Comment Some find it telling—and disturbing—that it took the killing of seven World Central Kitchen...

06.04.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The World Central Kitchen Killings Are a Tragedy—and an Important Sign

Tweet Share Share Comment Two Israeli air strikes on Tuesday—one killing seven food-aid workers on a convoy in Gaza, another...

04.04.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Ultra-Orthodox Jews Have Helped Netanyahu Stay in Power. That May Be Changing.

Tweet Share Share Comment Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could soon be ousted from power by a controversy over the...

03.04.2024 9

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Why Netanyahu Is Deliberately Alienating His Strongest Allies

Tweet Share Share Comment U.S.–Israel relations have hit an all-time low, and the main cause is the refusal of Prime Minister...

27.03.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

What the Deadliest Terrorist Attack in Russia in 20 Years Means for Putin and His Grip on Power

Tweet Share Share Comment It should have been no surprise that the terrorist group known as ISIS was behind Friday night’s...

26.03.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

What Trump Really Means When He Says He Would End the War in Gaza “Quickly”

Tweet Share Share Comment Donald Trump on Sunday said Israel should quickly end the war in Gaza and “get back to the world of...

19.03.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

A Key Fact That’s Being Overlooked Amid Calls for a Cease-Fire

Tweet Share Share Comment Amid all the calls for an Israeli cease-fire in the war with Gaza, a few key facts are getting short...

15.03.2024 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Why Chuck Schumer’s Break With Netanyahu Seems Like a Turning Point

Tweet Share Share Comment Sen. Chuck Schumer’s call for new elections in Israel marks a startling turn in the spiraling...

15.03.2024 20

Slate

Fred Kaplan

What’s in Biden’s $1 Trillion (Yes, Trillion) National Security Budget

Tweet Share Share Comment President Biden requested more than $1 trillion for national security in the budget that he submitted...

12.03.2024 8

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Biden Turned His Biggest Weakness Into His Strength at the State of the Union

Tweet Share Share Comment It’s unusual for a president to start and finish a State of the Union Address on foreign policy, but...

08.03.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Four Things That Will Have to Happen for the Israel-Hamas War to End

Tweet Share Share Comment President Joe Biden had hoped to strike a diplomatic deal in the Middle East by this past Monday—an...

07.03.2024 8

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Let Biden Have His Ice Cream!

Tweet Share Share Comment As the old ditty has it, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.” It’s a lyric of...

28.02.2024 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Why a Trump Presidency Would Be Very Bad News for Europe

Tweet Share Share Comment Fearing that Donald Trump will pull out of NATO if he’s reelected president, and alarmed that the...

28.02.2024 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Why We Should All Hope the U.S. Doesn’t Manage to Extradite Julian Assange

Tweet Share Share Comment I am not a fan of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. If he’s not a Russian spy, he has certainly...

22.02.2024 30

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Alexei Navalny’s Death Makes Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview Even More Dreadful

Tweet Share Share Comment Is Tucker Carlson still in Moscow? I wonder if he was lounging in a café with his FSB handlers,...

16.02.2024 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Real Takeaway From the “National Security Threat” Panic

Tweet Share Share Comment If the Russians are developing a nuclear anti-satellite weapon, as leaked reports from the House...

15.02.2024 9

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Biggest Problem With Trump’s NATO Remark

Tweet Share Share Comment Did Trump just encourage Russia to invade U.S. allies in Europe if they don’t spend more on defense?...

13.02.2024 40

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Everything That Was Wrong With Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview

Tweet Share Share Comment It is legitimate, in principle, for a journalist to interview a murderous dictator. The uproar over...

09.02.2024 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

What Biden’s Actually Doing With Those Drone Strikes in the Middle East

Tweet Share Share Comment Four months into the war between Israel and Hamas, the combatants, their allies, and their neighbors...

06.02.2024 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Does the U.S. Really Need to Spend $131 Billion on New Nukes?

Tweet Share Share Comment Maybe it’s because of the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, but few gasps were heard, no jaws...

02.02.2024 3

Slate

Fred Kaplan

How Biden Can Avoid Broadening the War in the Middle East

Tweet Share Share Comment President Biden has been walking a politico-military tightrope since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel...

31.01.2024 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Truth About Ukraine’s Decision to Give Up Its Nukes in the ’90s

Tweet Share Share Comment Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many politicians and commentators have rued the day, back...

26.01.2024 6

Slate

Fred Kaplan

There’s a Solid Plan to End the War in Gaza. Can Biden Get Bibi to Take It?

Tweet Share Share Comment The U.S., Egypt, and Qatar have devised a multistage plan for ending the Israel-Hamas war. One problem...

23.01.2024 20

Slate

Fred Kaplan

This Biden Move Only Encourages the Houthis—and Iran

Tweet Share Share Comment It’s a fool’s game to predict how the array of wars in the Middle East will evolve or end, but one...

19.01.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Real Reasons the Middle East Is Blowing Up Right Now

Tweet Share Share Comment The Middle East is blowing up. More militias and militaries are launching attacks against more...

19.01.2024 20

Slate

Fred Kaplan

This May Be the Only Way to Avoid a Broader Regional War in the Middle East

Tweet Share Share Comment After the U.S.-British air and naval strikes on Yemen on Thursday night, the Middle East is even...

13.01.2024 8

Slate

Fred Kaplan

After the ISIS Attack in Iran, Is the Terror Group Reemerging as a Global Threat?

Tweet Share Share Comment When the terrorist group ISIS took credit for killing 84 Iranians in a two-man suicide bombing last...

11.01.2024 3

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Secretary of Defense Disappeared for Days. That’s Not the Only Problem.

Tweet Share Share Comment Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin might well be gone from the Pentagon by the end of the week. A good...

08.01.2024 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

America Is Struggling on the World Stage. There’s a Very Bad Lesson to Take From That.

Tweet Share Share Comment An article by Philip Zelikow in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, titled “The Atrophy of American...

05.01.2024 9

Slate

Fred Kaplan

How the State Department Wants to Use Music to Change the World

Tweet Share Share Comment It was three months ago—though it feels like three years—when Secretary of State Antony Blinken...

28.12.2023 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Another Temporary Gaza Cease-Fire May Be on the Horizon—but That Won’t End the War

Tweet Share Share Comment Two sets of talks are going on—one in Cairo, one in New York—that might restart a cease-fire in...

21.12.2023 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Is Israel’s War in Gaza Strengthening Hamas?

Tweet Share Share Comment A new poll shows that Palestinian support for Hamas has grown significantly in the West Bank since the...

15.12.2023 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Republicans Are Sending a Dangerous Message to the Rest of the World

Tweet Share Share Comment It was like the breakup scene in a bad rom-com. “It’s got nothing to do with you,” Sen. Lindsey...

13.12.2023 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Republicans Are on the Verge of Delivering Putin a Big Christmas Gift

08.12.2023 6

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Alabama Senator Who Was Punishing the Military for Being “Too Woke” Has Ended His Cursed Crusade

Tweet Share Share Comment Sen. Tommy Tuberville dropped his hold on the promotion of more than 400 senior U.S. military officers...

06.12.2023 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Why It’s a Good Idea to Extend the Israel-Hamas Cease-Fire

Tweet Share Share Comment The United States and Israel are about to have their biggest, most consequential disagreement in many...

30.11.2023 4

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Israel Agreed to a Temporary Cease-Fire. What Happens Now?

Tweet Share Share Comment The Israel-Hamas hostages-for-prisoners exchange is a more generous deal for Hamas than Prime Minister...

22.11.2023 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

What People on TikTok Are Missing About That Osama bin Laden Letter

Tweet Share Share Comment In what may be the most stunning case of antisemitic distortion and disinformation in the last six...

17.11.2023 9

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Good News About Biden’s Meeting With the President of China

Tweet Share Share Comment Wednesday’s meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping went as well as anyone could have...

16.11.2023 2

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Biden Is About to Have One of the Most Consequential Diplomatic Meetings in Years

Tweet Share Share Comment President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will meet this Wednesday for what could...

14.11.2023 5

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Three Reasons Why There’s No End in Sight for the Israel-Hamas War

Tweet Share Share Comment One month has passed since the Israel-Hamas war began, and no end seems to be in sight. There are...

07.11.2023 10

Slate

Fred Kaplan

Israel Must Loudly Arrest the Settlers Who Are Killing West Bank Palestinians

Tweet Share Share Comment At a press conference in Tel Aviv on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israeli...

04.11.2023 30

Slate

Fred Kaplan

This Shows the Senate’s Rules Need to Change

Tweet Share Share Comment Even as the U.S. military faces threats in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, Tommy Tuberville—a...

03.11.2023 50

Slate

Fred Kaplan

How Israel Expects the War in Gaza to Go

Tweet Share Share Comment Israeli officials are planning to wage war against Hamas for several months to come, without...

01.11.2023 7

Slate

Fred Kaplan

How George W. Bush Helped Hamas Come to Power

Tweet Share Share Comment In a speech during President Biden’s visit to Israel last week, he urged the nation’s military to...

24.10.2023 3

Slate

Fred Kaplan

The Problem With Biden’s Version of the Axis of Evil

Tweet Share Share Comment President Joe Biden’s emergency budget request—which totals $105.85 billion—is not only a plea...

20.10.2023 1

Slate

Fred Kaplan

9d0a8ada9d534f2459418102d96ff1d3