Today’s Headlines and Commentary

U.S. and Taliban negotiators agreed to the principle of a peace agreement framework which would include a ceasefire and a Taliban promise not to harbor terrorists in exchange for American withdrawal from Afghanistan, the New York Times reports.

National security adviser John Bolton warned Venezuela that any threats against U.S. personnel or the U.S.-recognized interim president Juan Guaido will be “met with a significant response,” according to the BBC.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced his intention to establish safe zones in northern Syria to allow the return of millions of Syrian refugees who currently reside in Turkey, Al Jazeera details.

The European Union’s network-security agency predicted Monday that Iran is likely to expand its offensive cyber operations against the West as relations worsen between Iran and the U.S. and Europe, Reuters reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expelled a foreign observer force established to protect residents in the Palestinian city of Hebron in the West Bank, according to Reuters.

ICYMI: Last Weekend on Lawfare

Chuck Rosenberg commented on the FBI’s Friday arrest of Roger Stone, arguing it was not heavy-handed in light of Stone’s threats to kill a witness.

Jen Patja Howell shared a new episode of the Lawfare Podcast featuring a discussion with Benjamin Wittes and political scientist Jeffrey Tulis on Tulis’s book, “The Rhetorical Presidency” and its relevance today.

In this week’s Foreign Policy Essay, Robert Litwak examined the advantages of transactional diplomacy in achieving U.S. nonproliferation goals with Iran and North Korea.

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