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…
After the Brexit, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
Britain’s stunning decision to leave the European Union marks Europe’s rude awakening from its long dream of perfect unity. That is decisively over now, and a cold dawn awaits. The EU flag will have one less star in its circle…
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…
Reconstructing the Middle East
How Might It Be Done? There is an odd precision attaching to certain key events in the Middle East. Jimmy Carter’s third and final State of the Union address on January 23, 1980, was his “doctrine” speech and set in…
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,…
“This will stop only when the American people get fed up”: American exceptionalism, the New York Times, and our foreign policy after Barack Obama
Our smartest modern military historian explains to Salon what’s wrong about our adventures in the Middle East Part one of my interview with Andrew Bacevich, the soldier-turned-scholar who has just published “America’s War for the Greater Middle East: A Military…
“The scope of our failure”: The real story of our decades-long foreign policy disaster that set the Middle East on fire
The brilliant Andrew Bacevich tells Salon why our massive march to folly in Middle East has to be seen as one war I first interviewed Andrew Bacevich, the soldier turned scholar, after he spoke at the Hope Club, an old-line…
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