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Max Fisher

Worldviews Blogger

Washington, D.C.
Latest from Max

Rouhani’s Washington Post op-ed, annotated

Reading between the lines of the new Iranian leader’s big column.

Thu Sep 19 23:30:11 UTC 2013

An email to the United States from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

Assad says he wants $1 billion from the U.S. to remove his chemical weapons.

Thu Sep 19 20:36:15 UTC 2013

McCain’s self-defeating Pravda op-ed can only help Putin

The Republican senator fired back at Putin’s New York Times column.

Thu Sep 19 18:07:10 UTC 2013

Iran is watching Obama’s handling of Syria

Backing down on Syria is the best thing Obama could do for his credibility with Iran.

Thu Sep 19 14:48:10 UTC 2013

Did we just glimpse Syria’s second civil war?

Open fighting between moderate and extremist rebels is a very bad sign for the conflict.

Thu Sep 19 11:01:44 UTC 2013

Three big lessons from Rouhani’s first Western interview

Iran’s new president made some promising overtures for peace, but had some odd words on the nuclear program.

Wed Sep 18 22:40:10 UTC 2013

Explaining Israel-Palestine through food

Everyone should see the travel and food writer’s hour-long special, from Jerusalem to Gaza.

Wed Sep 18 14:56:30 UTC 2013

The Air Force tested a 2,000-pound bomb on a fake pirate boat

The Air Force got a little overzealous in selling its fancy GBU-10 bombs as anti-piracy weapons.

Tue Sep 17 18:36:10 UTC 2013

This map strongly suggests Syrian forces were behind chemical attack

The sarin-filled artillery shells appear to have been fired from within a Republican Guard base.

Tue Sep 17 17:10:10 UTC 2013

Why Obama’s wishy-washy Syria strategy is actually working

The president’s lack of resolve may actually be an asset in the Syria crisis.

Tue Sep 17 16:24:09 UTC 2013

Infographic guide to Syria’s chemical weapons

The infographic explains what chemical weapons do to people and how they’re delivered.

Mon Sep 16 19:18:14 UTC 2013

The UN chemical weapons report is pretty damning for Assad

Five details in the report seem to strongly implicate the Syrian government.

Mon Sep 16 18:53:15 UTC 2013

Russian official blames U.S. shooting on ‘American exceptionalism’

“Nobody’s even surprised anymore,” writes Duma foreign affairs chief Alexei Pushkin.

Mon Sep 16 16:00:25 UTC 2013

How to understand the U.S.-Russia-Syria standoff

While it may look messy, the Obama-Putin-Assad standoff is actually just standard diplomacy. And it’s working.

Fri Sep 13 18:21:39 UTC 2013

Did Putin write the New York Times op-ed himself?

The answer would be an easy “no” if not for this one strange paragraph.

Fri Sep 13 11:02:31 UTC 2013

Vladimir Putin’s New York Times op-ed, annotated

The Russian president made a direct appeal to Americans. Here’s a look between the lines.

Thu Sep 12 16:06:15 UTC 2013

Did Obama just give Assad legitimacy?

It’s been the U.S. position for months that Assad should step down only as part of a voluntary peace deal.

Thu Sep 12 11:22:10 UTC 2013

The Syria speech Obama would give if he were brutally honest

The president made his case to the nation for striking Syria. What if he’d taken truth pills?

Wed Sep 11 17:02:11 UTC 2013

Obama eschews scare tactics for the unsatisfying truth

His speech felt like a lesson in political science, not the threat-inflation we usually hear from presidents seeking military action.

Wed Sep 11 12:58:12 UTC 2013

Getting that Syria plan through the United Nations

It all comes down to whether the world can agree on how to hold Assad accountable.

Tue Sep 10 21:20:11 UTC 2013
About Max
Max Fisher is the Post's foreign affairs blogger. He has a master's degree in security studies from Johns Hopkins University. Sign up for his daily newsletter here. Also, follow him on Twitter or Facebook