“Crimean fantasies: A webcast.”

“Crimean fantasies: A webcast.”

Nobody’s reasoning why, per usual. “Foolish,” “provocative,” “reckless,” “hubristic”: Most of these terms are James Carden’s as we discussed, in this weekend exchange, the H.M.S. Defender’s purposeful intrusion into Russian waters off Crimea last week. And those terms not James’s are mine. …

“Something happened in Geneva.”

“Something happened in Geneva.”

Second thoughts on the summit. That grand encounter of Presidents Biden and Putin in Geneva way, way back last week proves by many measures a nonevent. Correspondents assigned to cover the summit had to chicken-scratch for something to write as…

“France’s ‘Generals Problem.’”

“France’s ‘Generals Problem.’”

And ours. This spring the French political establishment was rocked by two open letters from current and former members of the French military, both warning that France was on the brink of civil war. The sensitive question of civilian control…

“Jobs and prices.”

“Jobs and prices.”

Maybe there is a labor shortage. In 1964, Potter Stewart, then mid-career as a Supreme Court Justice, famously described how he recognized obscenity. “I know it when I see it,” he said.  This somewhat vague, subjective, reply hits at the…

“The Rrrrussians come again.”

“The Rrrrussians come again.”

Pre-summit nonsense. Joe Biden has just announced that he will convene with Vladimir Putin for the two leaders’ first summit, to be held 16 June in Geneva. It is not too difficult to put forward a forecast as to how…

“‘The Blob,’ anatomized.”

“‘The Blob,’ anatomized.”

An exchange with Kelley Vlahos. We were delighted to be joined last week by the editor and journalist Kelley Vlahos for a Scrum webcast. Vlahos, editorial director of the online magazine Responsible Statecraft and senior advisor at the Quincy Institute, is one the most astute diagnosticians…

“The Iran question.”

“The Iran question.”

An exchange with Muhammad Sahimi. I first “met” Muhammad Sahimi over the internet after reading the pieces he was publishing a couple of years back on Lobe Log, Jim Lobe’s admirable project that gave shelter to all sorts of interesting voices….

‘The Russia Question’

‘The Russia Question’

Diplomacy must not die. Last week, the Biden administration announced plans to stop processing travel visas for most Russian citizens. In tandem, the embassy in Moscow plans to cut consular staff, State Department officers whose duties include visa processing, by…

"Abolish corporate taxes?!?"

“Abolish corporate taxes?!?”

Read on. It hardly needs saying that President Biden has a lot on his plate right now: Addressing Covid–19 disruptions, rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, and the Green New Deal are among the many initiatives he now proposes to undertake. It…

“Isolationism revisited.”

“Isolationism revisited.”

Let us not miss its merits. Isolationism’s close association with interwar figures such as Charles Lindbergh and Joseph P. Kennedy has long given it a bad name—and not without reason. Yet, 80 years on from the founding of the America…