“Does anyone have a plan?” Here’s how we fix decades of overseas neo-conservative adventurism
We have accepted the horrors of American exceptionalism for too long. Here’s a progressive foreign policy blueprint “Tell me, what exactly is ‘an authentically progressive foreign policy.’” That is the request of a reader responding to last week’s column in the comment…
How Putin Put Obama in a Bind on Syria
As Russia’s advance into Syria proceeds, apparently with some early successes against key targets, it starts to look as if Moscow is using the Syria crisis to force the Obama administration into a bind. On Saturday, Jordan agreed to cooperate…
This is not a democracy: Behind the Deep State that Obama, Hillary or Trump couldn’t control
Foreign policy never really changes regardless of who holds the White House. This is why exceptionalism always wins There are two ways to consider the White House’s announcement last week that, no, American troops will no longer withdraw from Afghanistan…
Add ‘Brexit’ to the Immigration Crisis that Threatens Europe
This has been a very bad year for the European Union. Until recently, you could have put the EU in that elite category reserved for too-big-to-fail institutions. But not anymore. In the simplest terms, Europe’s long-held ambition to unify like-minded…
Journal Entry #10
NORFOLK, CONN.—When I began the two columns I now produce weekly—four years and some, two years and some ago—they weren’t my first outings in the foreign affairs scene. I had written one for three years at Bloomberg—a (politically) difficult engagement…
Putin might be right on Syria: The actual strategy behind his Middle East push — and why the New York Times keeps obscuring it
There’s actually common sense and historical vision behind the Putin plan. Not that our media covers it honestly One sentence in a news report the other day on Russia’s assertive new campaign to subdue Islamic extremists in Syria simply will…
Obama’s Failure in Syria Now Extends to Turkey
The Obama administration’s failure in Syria after four years of wasted lives, money, and effort deepens by the day now. The Russians have just benched us, whether Washington wants to admit it or not, and we may well sit out the…
“Putin is the only major leader to utter a few simple truths about the role of the United States in the world today”
Perry Anderson on foreign policy: America’s problem is it’s a global hegemon without global ideology legitimacy Part two of our conversation with Perry Anderson. Find part one here. Fifteen years ago, in the distant universe we now know as pre-September 11,…
Thomas Friedman, read your Chomsky: The New York Times gets Putin/Obama all wrong, again
“Do you realize now what you’ve done?” The best question about our Middle East disasters actually comes from Putin A lot of good people are asking a lot of good questions these days, and this is an excellent thing. On…
Obama’s Syria Strategy: ‘Scrambling’ and ‘Desperate’ as Putin Takes Charge
What a week for President Obama and his toe-in-the-water strategy to stabilize the riotous anarchy that is Syria. The administration can do all the papering over they wish, but there’s no obscuring the truth that just landed with a thud:…
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