Now the U.S. is playing spoiler role in Korea, Syria and elsewhere. But why?
Washington can’t adjust to losing its role as global sheriff, and the entire world must bear the consequences If the first few weeks of 2018 are any guide, it is going to be a tumultuous, confrontational year for America’s foreign…
American policy totally failed in Syria — let’s be thankful
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 Goes to Asia—but the Pentagon Gets There First
Mattis confirms policy with Manila, Tokyo, and Seoul before the president’s first trip across the Pacific. At the end of this week our president is to set off on an 11–day sweep through Asia—five nations plus two regional forums, one…
The Unacknowledged Logic of North Korea’s Missile Tests
We may not like it, but nuclear weapons may be all that stands in the way of another US-conducted “regime change.” Given that North Korea flooded the airwaves and the press during our July 4 rituals—which grow more objectionably militarist…
How Our Foreign-Policy Elites Manufactured the Korea Crisis
The attack on the Syrian airfield was a message to North Korea and China—and a demonstration of Trump’s capitulation to the imperial clique. The crisis over North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs now builds to a perilous pitch with no…
The Failed Syria Ceasefire Pushes US-Russia Relations to the Brink
Unless there’s a quick and drastic turn for the better in Syria, the US may reach its moment of truth with Russia. If Washington is simply unable or unwilling to work with Moscow to resolve the conflict, it’s likely that…
Why the Kerry-Lavrov Syrian Ceasefire–the 9th Try–Better Hold
After a long walk on a stony path in the wee hours of Saturday in Geneva, Secretary of State John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, his Russian counterpart, finally reached a Syrian ceasefire agreement – again. A week-long “cessation of hostilities”…
As US Clout in the Mideast Declines, Russia and Iran Muscle In
It has long been clear that the Obama administration will hand its successor a dangerous mess in the Middle East, centering on Syria and emanating outward. Is it now ceding so much initiative that it risks delivering the next president…
Bashing Trump Is Easy. Seeing His Foreign Policy Is Smart Takes Guts
Is Donald Trump “dangerous,” as 50 G.O.P. national security “experts” asserted in an open letter—the second this year—published last week? Would he be “the most reckless president in American history,” as they also warned? Jeffrey Goldberg calls Trump “a de…
Trump Is Wrong About Russia, but He Does Get One Thing Right
We may never know who hacked 20,000 Democratic National Committee email messages, or why they were made public. But we know a lot more now about where our two presidential candidates stand on Russia. No matter whether Hillary Clinton or…
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