PATRICK LAWRENCE: Trump’s Foreign Policy Explained
Trump arrived in Washington as a New York property man unfamiliar with the permanent DC establishment, but determined to make deals where others dare not go. Chaos was the result. “Some friendly health advice to Iran,” President Donald Trump tweeted last Wednesday….
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Assassins & Iran
Any thought of Biden and his people riding into town on white horses to save the nuclear deal is strictly naïve. I was on the telephone with a friend in Tehran Sunday and found myself telling him about a Christmas card…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Huawei, Tik Tok, WeChat & Other Handy Targets
Washington is now committed to preventing any non–Western nations that do not conform to the neoliberal order from rising in any field wherein they threaten to best U.S. companies. The Trump regime is taking Huawei, Tik Tok and WeChat, three…
Bravate di Guerra Fredda nel Pacifico
This Italian translation appeared on Sakeritalia. Prima è arrivata al Congresso la richiesta formale [in inglese] da parte del Dipartimento della Difesa per un assegno di 20 miliardi di dollari per aumentare la propria presenza in tutto il Pacifico. Un mese dopo la…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Cold War Escapades in the Pacific
There is a lot to read into this moment, but one thing’s clear. The U.S. doesn’t know what time it is. First came the Defense Department’s formal request to Congress for a $20 billion check to upgrade its presence across the Pacific. That…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: Iranian Tankers & the Age of Interdiction
Two forms of interdiction — the steady expansion of U.S. sanctions and our stunning drift toward unmasked censorship — have begun to intersect. Over the weekend, a sixth Iranian cargo ship entered Venezuelan waters and is due to dock shortly. It follows…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: US Defiles ‘Common Humanity’ During Pandemic
Washington’s priorities are maintaining divisions, suspicions, animosities and enmities as if there were no global humanitarian crisis. Cuba sends 50–odd doctors and nurses to Italy, among the nations the COVID–19 virus has hit hardest. It was Cuba alone that assisted…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Iranian General’s Intent
Given the gravity of last week’s drone assassination, the State and Defense Departments must prove their claims against Qassem Soleimani. AFAQ–TV, a satellite station broadcasting from Baghdad, ran a brief video clip last May of Ali Khamenei speaking to a small gathering….
PATRICK LAWRENCE: At UN, European Allies & Trump Clip Pompeo’s Hawk Wings
After the recent strikes on Saudi oil facilities, E-3 leaders offered a sop to the secretary of state but resisted key elements of his “maximum hostility” campaign towards Iran while Trump also distanced himself. This week’s General Assembly at the United Nations…
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Diplomacy of No Diplomacy
We now watch as Biden and his foreign policy people effectively allow Israel to dictate the conditions under which the president can fulfill his campaign promise on Iran. A return to diplomacy: Let us hold this thought up to the light….