John Kerry’s last hurrah: With the Syrian cease-fire, the secretary of state takes a parting swipe at Russophobia
The cease-fire ends his successful skirmish with the Pentagon, but the war will grind on long after Kerry is gone Secretary of State John Kerry now gives us another “cessation of hostilities” agreement — a not-quite-cease-fire — as signed with…
War in the media age: Hysteria over Trump’s supposed Russian ties made headlines, but the “story” is remarkably flimsy
A case study in how a co-opted press manufactures foreign policy consent From one week to the next, I note with mounting anxiety the media’s habit of using innuendo, loaded suggestion, assemblages of proximate facts, implication short of assertion and omission…
Corporate media’s Turkey spin: “Attempted coup” bears the marks of an authoritarian power grab orchestrated by Erdoğan
Last week’s events in Turkey leave astute observers with more questions than answers Recip Tayyip Erdoğan has to be the most exotic political figure to come down the pike in who can say how long. “Tinpot” is too good a…
The West escalates with Russia: Make no mistake, a second Cold War is now official NATO policy
NATO’s aggressive posture towards Russia sets a dangerous course for Obama’s successor There have been 22 NATO summits since the first convened in Paris 59 years ago. If you study the chronology, they are more frequent during those times the…
The two Obamas: An assessment of our capable, but captive president
Obama’s obscuring of the truth about his drone program tarnishes otherwise strong legacy on human rights Not long ago I had the president of our great country down as a conundrum or an enigma or a Hamlet or a hypocrite—or…
Don’t blame Brits for the Brexit: The EU strayed from its roots in post-war unity to become a neoliberal technocracy
There is no understanding the Brexit vote without understanding the ideals and purpose the EU discarded Countless thoughts tumble forward as news of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union sinks in. Among the larger of these is one that…
The Syria dilemma: Dissecting the leaked diplomats memo calling for Obama to get tougher on Assad
Something smells fishy when a hawkish State Dept. memo “leaks” to the Times on the eve of Sec. Clinton’s nomination It has been clear for some time that the Syria conflict was bound to turn into some magnitude of Waterloo…
Our Syria policy is still a mess: These are the dots the media refuses to connect
Russia’s foreign minister reveals a strange talk with John Kerry, and explains much about American foreign policy MOSCOW—Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s widely respected foreign minister, dropped a big one here last weekend. After an hour-long conversation with John Kerry, Lavrov asserted…
We can’t have more of the same: The very real dangers of Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy
Trump may well be dangerous. But know what you’re getting with Hillary: American hegemony that’s hated worldwide Just what we needed: another foreign policy speech from Candidate Clinton. This one arrived last Thursday in San Diego—well-chosen ground, given the Navy’s…
The Defense Department is ruining America: Big budgets, militarization and the real story behind our Asia pivot
“Our defense contractors await your business.” That was the message behind Obama and Carter’s visits to Asia You have to tip the cap to Defense Secretary Carter. People in Washington spin things as a matter of course, as Ben Rhodes,…
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