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American policy totally failed in Syria — let’s be thankful

American policy totally failed in Syria — let’s be thankful

November 26, 2017 · by Patrick Lawrence · in Articles, Salon

Despite media obfuscation, last week’s meeting between Putin and Assad suggests a new order in the Middle East I kept hearing National Public Radio programs this week to the effect that liberals and “progressives,” not to mention those in the…

Trump Acts on Obama’s 'Red Line' by Launching Missiles at Syrian Targets

Trump Acts on Obama’s ‘Red Line’ by Launching Missiles at Syrian Targets

April 6, 2017 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

This PDF document is the original version, as filed, of the column posted on April 6. A week ago, administration officials said that ousting Syrian President Bashar al–Assad was no longer the U.S. priority. After Obama and then-Secretary of State…

4 More Foreign Policy Challenges that Clinton Could Botch

4 More Foreign Policy Challenges that Clinton Could Botch

August 8, 2016 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

Hillary Clinton threw down a gauntlet worthy of a medieval knight when she attacked Donald Trump’s foreign policy competence in her much-noted speech in San Diego a couple of months ago. She bragged that she was the voice of experience…

The real story about Syria and Libya: Behind a new agreement with Moscow, and the insidious way the New York Times protects Hillary

The real story about Syria and Libya: Behind a new agreement with Moscow, and the insidious way the New York Times protects Hillary

March 1, 2016 · by Patrick L. Smith · in Articles, Salon

A new accord with Moscow on Syria clears up little. And a new Times series on Clinton and Libya has a messy agenda Hardly does the Syria accord announced jointly in Washington and Moscow last week clarify the swamp of…

A Lame UN Peace Plan for Syria Is Quickly Eclipsed by Saudi Arabia

A Lame UN Peace Plan for Syria Is Quickly Eclipsed by Saudi Arabia

December 21, 2015 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

The U.N. Security Council finally passed a resolution Friday authorizing a plan to end the war that has torn Syria to shreds. Does this open a new, decisive chapter in the four-year crisis? Or will it turn out to be…

Putin’s Military Strikes in Syria Are a 'Mine Is Bigger Than Yours' Show

Putin’s Military Strikes in Syria Are a ‘Mine Is Bigger Than Yours’ Show

December 14, 2015 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

MOSCOW—You’d think that things are shaping up well for those trying to find an enduring settlement of the gruesome Syria crisis and get down to the business of destroying the Islamic State. That’s not how it looks from here. What…

SYRIA.

SYRIA.

November 27, 2015 · by Patrick L. Smith · in Articles, Salon

Salon did not publish the following column. It was filed November 27th, the day after Thanksgiving and three days after Turkish pilots shot a Russian jet out of the sky near the border between Syria and Turkey—by what evidence has…

Why Allies and Adversaries Should Unite to Defeat ISIS

Why Allies and Adversaries Should Unite to Defeat ISIS

November 23, 2015 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

Suddenly, the civilized world has one thing on its mind — an alliance among key nations to fight ISIS. No one is talking about containment anymore. The topic is decisive defeat on Syrian and Iraqi battlefields and anywhere else terrorists…

In a Single Weekend, Tragedy in Paris, a Sign of Hope in Vienna

In a Single Weekend, Tragedy in Paris, a Sign of Hope in Vienna

November 16, 2015 · by Patrick Smith · in Articles, The Fiscal Times

Buried in all the moving, hard-to-fathom accounts of the savage assaults in Paris Friday are a few home truths. French President François Hollande didn’t hesitate to term the attacks an act of war, and he’s sadly right: The terrorists’ war…

John Kerry admits defeat: The Ukraine story the media won’t tell, and why U.S. retreat is a good thing

John Kerry admits defeat: The Ukraine story the media won’t tell, and why U.S. retreat is a good thing

May 19, 2015 · by Patrick L. Smith · in Articles, Salon

The U.S. seems to admit it overplayed its hand over Ukraine. Caving to reality is actually the best possible policy. It is just as well Secretary of State John Kerry’s momentous meetings with Russian leaders last week took place in…

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About Patrick Lawrence

Writer, commentator, longtime newspaper and magazine correspondent abroad. Writes often on Europe and Asia. Published five books.

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