Daniel Pipes’s assessment of Trump’s policies?

Do you consider Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia an asset for Israel?

A: That's a bit strong. I consider him an asset for Saudi Arabia and hope that, among his modernizing efforts, he will diminish Arab hostility toward the Jewish state.

Q: In an interview with L'Informale, Edward Luttwak told us, "Iran seems a great power if you look at the situation in Syria, but this image doesn't correspond to reality. In Syria, Iran deploys twelve thousand soldiers coming from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They belong to Shiite groups and are so poor that they are willing to do anything for 3, 4 dollars a day. ... the theocracy is very good at selling itself and hiding its own failures." Do you agree with this analysis?

A: No. Every party to a conflict has its weaknesses, but to focus exclusively at these without looking at its strengths or at its opponent's weaknesses distorts the situation. That, I fear, is what Edward Luttwak has done. Whatever its problems, the Iranian regime is the Middle East's successful aggressor, now dominant in four Arab capitals.

Q: Should the U.S. government work to bring down the Iranian regime or just keep watching and waiting for its eventual demise?

A: The former. It frustrates and amazes me that, through 39 years of Iranian aggression, from the embassy takeover to the nuclear buildup, ending the Islamic Republic of Iran has never been U.S. policy.