Tikvah
Editors’ Pick

April 10, 2025

Hawks and Restraintists Battle for Donald Trump’s Ear

The forces shaping Middle East strategy.

As Tevi Troy discussed in last week’s podcast, the divisions within the Trump administration over relations with Israel are typical of Republican presidencies, and reflect more general divergences about America’s role in the world. Michael Doran, looking closely at the current intramural feuds, detects a split between “Restraintists” and hawks, and notes that Restraintism has a long pedigree both on the right and, perhaps especially, on the left. Indeed, it was the overwhelming impulse of the Obama administration, made especially manifest in its Iran policy. But now Restraintism comes in new clothes:

SaveGift