"'A test for Biden.'"

“‘A test for Biden.'”

Adam Weinstein on Afghanistan: A webcast. It was a pleasure the other day to welcome Adam Weinstein to The Scrum’s pages by way of a webcast. Weinstein is a research fellow at the Quincy Institute, the most intellectually innovative think tank…

“Washington's bias toward war.”

“Washington’s bias toward war.”

A conversation with Col. Lawrence Wilkerson. Once again, war clouds gather over eastern Ukraine.  In recent weeks we have witnessed a surge in fighting in the Donbas region of Ukraine, accompanied by what is said to be a massing of Russian troops on Russia’s…

“Did somebody say ‘jobs plan?’”

“Did somebody say ‘jobs plan?’”

Jokes, wheezes, goodies for the donor class. The boldness with which the Biden administration acted on its $1.9 trillion Covid–19 relief package gave many progressives hope that the Democrats’ break with the old Clinton/Obama governing paradigms had been decisively consolidated….

“The Pentagon’s ‘honeypot’: A webcast.”

“The Pentagon’s ‘honeypot’: A webcast.”

Molly McCartney on ‘the stunning numbers.’ Today The Scrum welcomes the author and journalist Molly McCartney. Given McCartney’s principal subject, I cannot think of anyone more pertinent to invite into our pages. Our discussion focused on what I and many others consider the…

“Our cold, two-front war.”

“Our cold, two-front war.”

We’re already losing this one. Co-authored with James W. Carden Last week marked excellent progress for those hoping the Biden administration will lead America into a new Cold War—this one to be waged on two fronts across both oceans. “Ca-ching!” ring…

“30 seconds over Syria.”

“30 seconds over Syria.”

The revenge of the Obamanauts. Welp. That didn’t take long. Late in February, little more than a month into the Biden presidency—or, perhaps more accurately, the Obama restoration—the Pentagon carried out airstrikes on what it alleged were Iranian proxies active…

"Another dissident colonel."

“Another dissident colonel.”

An exchange with Douglas Macgregor. Two centuries ago, the British statesman John Bright warned against “following visionary phantoms in all parts of the world while your own country is becoming rotten within.” It is symptomatic of how diseased American strategic…

“The China choice.”

“The China choice.”

Between reason and paranoia. News arrived yesterday that the U.S. Navy dispatched a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Curtis Wilbur, on one of those “freedom of navigation” sails through the Taiwan Strait. The Wilbur’s home port is Yokosuka, a harbor and shipyard south of…

“The Forgotten War.”

“The Forgotten War.”

Q & Aing with Ambassador John Evans. Last week The Scrum began video-recording a new series of question-and-answer exchanges with leading international relations experts, thinkers, and practitioners. Our first guest, I am pleased to say, was Ambassador John Evans. John’s learned and…

"Minimum wage mythologies."

“Minimum wage mythologies.”

Fifty years of analytic scams. The Congressional Budget Office’s latest assessment on the impacts of President Biden’s proposed increase in the minimum wage to $15/hour, issued at the beginning of February, is both predictable and disappointing. While acknowledging that 27 million people…