Louis René Beres
ARTICLES BY: Louis René Beres
Israel Has a Legal Option to Prevent Iranian Nuclear Weapons: The Use of Force
Though Iran describes its drone and missile attack on Israel as “retaliation,” it is actually an act of aggression. If Iran were an already-nuclear enemy...
Israel’s Targeting of Hamas Commander Marwan Issa Was a Legal Operation
Under authoritative international rules, Israel’s mid-March targeting of senior Hamas commander Marwan Issa was law-enforcing. Among other egregious crimes, Issa was a key planner of...
Israel Is Allowed to Target Hamas Terrorists; International Law Is Not a Suicide Pact
"Each state is expected to aid and enforce the law of nations, as part of the common law, by inflicting an adequate punishment upon the...
Navigating Israel’s Nuclear ‘Samson Option’
In any rationality-based strategic calculus, the “Samson Option” -- which refers to an Israeli nuclear strike -- would refer not to a last-resort act of...
The Deeper Causes of Anti-Israel Terror
What really drives terror against Israel? To begin a proper answer, we must first understand the universal human need “to belong.” This primal need can...
After the War: Why Palestine Would Be a Lawless and Militarized State
Once again, disparate voices are urging a “two-state solution” to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. For the most part, these urgings are either manipulative or naive, but...
Dangerous Intersections: Palestinian Statehood and Regional Nuclear War
When Israel completes its obligatory counter-terrorism war in Gaza, the issue of Palestinian statehood will insistently be raised. This perilous resurrection is foreseeable even though...
Israel Must Confront the Jihadist Desire for Immortality
Effective counter-terrorism is never just about strategy, tactics, or doctrine. Whatever an insurgency’s operational specifics, this area of national security planning should always remain starkly...
I’m an International Law Expert; Israel’s Actions in Gaza Are Completely Proportional to the Hamas Threat
On its face, the Hamas terror attack on October 7, 2023, was beyond legal or ethical justification. Nonetheless, though Israel has every conceivable right to...
Israel Against Terrorism: The Primacy of Intellectual Struggle
Facing new cycles of terror attacks, Israel must prepare to look far beyond traditional forms of counter-terrorism strategy. Rather than remain preoccupied with high-technology weapons...
US Foreign Policy Threats to Israel’s National Security: Strategic Imperatives for Jerusalem
Though US President Donald Trump describes himself as pro-Israel, any serious analytic assessment of his foreign policies would point toward a different conclusion. On the...
What Happens to Israel if the US and Iran Go to War?
On core matters of peace and security, two closely interrelated questions must be asked and answered, capably: What precisely does Donald Trump have in mind...
‘America First’ Is an Anti-American Doctrine
In the 17th century, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes warned famously against anarchy in world politics, a condition that he associated with a “war of all...
America, Iran and ‘Anticipatory Self-Defense’
"Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration.” - President Donald Trump,...
