Defense and State In a Tug of War Over Obama’s Syria Policy
For many of us, the news last week that President Obama is sending U.S. Special Forces to Syria to oversee the training of Syrian rebels fighting ISIS is confusing. It begs the question—what exactly is the Obama administration’s policy, strategy,…
How Putin Put Obama in a Bind on Syria
As Russia’s advance into Syria proceeds, apparently with some early successes against key targets, it starts to look as if Moscow is using the Syria crisis to force the Obama administration into a bind. On Saturday, Jordan agreed to cooperate…
Obama’s Failure in Syria Now Extends to Turkey
The Obama administration’s failure in Syria after four years of wasted lives, money, and effort deepens by the day now. The Russians have just benched us, whether Washington wants to admit it or not, and we may well sit out the…
“Putin is the only major leader to utter a few simple truths about the role of the United States in the world today”
Perry Anderson on foreign policy: America’s problem is it’s a global hegemon without global ideology legitimacy Part two of our conversation with Perry Anderson. Find part one here. Fifteen years ago, in the distant universe we now know as pre-September 11,…
Outright lies from the New York Times: What you need to know about the dangerous new phase in the Ukraine crisis
While establishment media toe Washington’s line, violence and instability have shaken the Ukraine this week The slightly fetid “phony war” in Ukraine—the unsettling stagnation noted in this space a month ago—is emphatically over. Suddenly there is movement on several fronts,…
The U.S.-Russia “phony war”: How Washington warmongers could bring us from stalemate to catastrophe
One of two outcomes is likely: Another long Cold War, or a great power conflict. The Ukraine crisis and the attendant confrontation with Russia assume a “phony war” feel these days. As in the perversely calm months between the German…
We restarted the Cold War: The real story about the NATO buildup that the New York Times won’t tell you
Our leaders and media push time-worn nonsense about American innocence, while taking aggressive moves. Look out. Have you picked up on the new trope du jour? We are all encouraged to bask in our innocence as we lament the advent…
We are the propagandists: The real story about how The New York Times and the White House has turned truth in the Ukraine on its head
A sophisticated game of manipulation is afoot over Russia: power, influence and money. U.S. hands are not clean. A couple of weeks ago, this column guardedly suggested that John Kerry’s day-long talks in Sochi with Vladimir Putin and his foreign…
John Kerry admits defeat: The Ukraine story the media won’t tell, and why U.S. retreat is a good thing
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…
Kerry-Putin Talks Could Deliver a Global Surprise
At 8:12 a.m. last Tuesday, Secretary of State Kerry Tweeted from Sochi, the Black Sea resort, with this mind-blower: “Had frank discussions with President #Putin& FM #Lavrov on key issues including #IranTalks, #Syria, #Ukraine.” In 140 characters and a photograph,…
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