Foreign Policy
Donald in Arabia
Donald Trump has gotten rather positive press coverage for his address to the Saudis. Remember his State of the Union address? Whenever Trump talks for more than 5 minutes without making an obvious ass of himself, people start calling him ...
Read MoreStriking Syria
I’m frankly ambivalent about the US airstrikes in Syria. Arguably, they are an appropriately measured response to an atrocity. As long as they are no more than that—as long as they are a one-time demonstration and not a prelude to ...
Read MoreObama’s Legacy (II): Foreign Policy
Okay, since you know that I’m going to point to the empty upper half of the glass, I’ll start with the half-full part. President Obama’s foreign policy accomplishments are considerable, and whatever his successor does, they will have lasting value ...
Read MoreThe Syrian Tragedy
I don’t know if Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is generally regarded as a rising Democratic star on foreign policy issues, but he should be. His op-ed on Syria in today’s NY Times makes eminent good sense, as he usually ...
Read MoreIsrael, The US, and the World
The UN Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s colonization of the West Bank–passed by a 14-0 vote– should be uncontroversial. It merely states the overwhelming international consensus that Israel’s land grab is a flagrant violation of international law. Even if you ...
Read MoreCan anything good come of this?
In my last post I promised to look for silver linings in this catastrophic election. I’ll try to make good on that promise, but I do want to emphasize that I am grasping at straws (and, I guess, mixing metaphors). ...
Read MoreUnbelievable
It is hard to believe. The White House will soon be home to a hatemongering, chronically mendacious caricature of a textbook narcissist, a con man who is totally unfit for the presidency. I’m glad that I don’t have any small ...
Read MoreIs Trump right about anything?
Well, yes, much as I hate to say it, he’s sort of right about a few things, mainly in foreign policy. And now that he’s tanking in the polls, I can shed my reluctance to acknowledge his very limited merits. ...
Read MoreHillary’s E-mails, Redux
I don’t really want to blog about Hillary’s e-mails, but the topic really is unavoidable, isn’t it? I don’t see that the FBI report adds much new information to what was known after the State Department Inspector General’s report was ...
Read MoreWhat HRC Isn’t & What She Is
Two articles in yesterday’s NY Times usefully shed light on the probable 2016 Democratic nominee for president . Hillary-haters ought to read Nicholas Kristof’s op.ed. Kristof debunks the myth that Hillary is an exceptionally devious or mendacious or shifty politician. ...
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