John Kerry Promises U.S. Blood & Treasure for Mideast Autocrats
Over the past several weeks, we've had a very instructive lesson in how Washington's Middle East alliances work. During the Cold War, the U.S. sought allies to advance American interests -- the...
View ArticleEuropean Fecklessness on Display
John Vinocur describes Europe's mounting frustration with the Obama presidency and their lack of faith in his ability to achieve his goals. According to Vinocur, this frustration is especially acute...
View ArticleChina's Censorship Goes Global
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) devotes enormous resources to internal stability, including rigorous monitoring and censoring of its media. Yet China is increasingly a global power and as a new...
View ArticleWhy the U.S. and Israel Split on Iran
Robert Tait reads through Israeli media reaction to the interim Iranian nuclear deal and finds nothing but "grim reading" for Israel's prime minister. Much of the criticism boils down to Netanyahu's...
View ArticleCry Munich, and Let Slip the Dogs of Hyperbole
It was inevitable that neoconservatives would greet the news of a negotiated settlement (even a mere interim one) with cries of appeasement and Munich. But let's all hand it to the Wall Street...
View ArticleThe World Has Never Been a Nice Place
There's a certain strain of hawkish commentary that seeks to draw a connection between a particularly horrific event (or series of events) abroad to the theme of American global leadership. In this...
View ArticleAmerica to China: Do as We Say...
If there's been one consistent theme running through the revelations provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden, it's that the gulf between what the U.S. says on the global stage and what it does in...
View ArticleThe Death of a Mideast Theory
Anyone paying even modest attention to the news knows that the Middle East is convulsed with violence. Iraq is battling a resurgent al-Qaeda, Syria is mired in a brutal civil war that is creeping...
View ArticleA Reminder of What It Means When They Say U.S. Allies Have Lost Faith in America
One recurring criticism of the Obama administration is that it has presided over a collapse in confidence among America's Middle Eastern allies. Jennifer Rubin, for instance, claims it's "remarkable...
View ArticleThree Reasons South Korea Is a Tech Paradise
If any country qualifies for the title of Tech Mecca, it's South Korea. Home to two of the world's powerhouse electronics companies, Samsung and LG, the country recently topped Bloomberg's list of...
View ArticleOn Iran, Extraordinary Claims Should Require Extraordinary Evidence
The cosmologist Carl Sagan popularized the notion that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Yet when it comes to Iran, it appears the rules of evidentiary common sense are out the...
View ArticleTwo Things the U.S. Should Not Do in Ukraine
Any discussion of U.S. tactics has to start with the realization that Russia holds most of the meaningful cards in the short term. The U.S. and Europe are not going to reverse the facts on the ground...
View ArticleWhen You Play with Fire, Ukraine Edition
John Judis has an interesting interview with Dmitri Simes, the president of the Center for the National Interest, on the situation in Ukraine. In it, Simes castigates the Obama administraiton for their...
View ArticleThe One Ukraine Argument You Should Ignore
Stop me if you've heard this one before. Vladimir Putin only invaded Crimea because he knew President Obama wouldn't back up his threats with action. Hadn't the world seen Obama draw a bright red line...
View ArticleMost Americans Don't Want to Get Too Involved in Ukraine
According to a new survey from Pew Research, 52 percent of Americans think it is more important for the U.S. not to get too involved in the situation in Ukraine -- an attitude in marked contrast to...
View ArticlePrinciples Shouldn't Trump Ignorance
A recent survey about U.S. policy toward Ukraine found that the more geographically illiterate a respondent was, the more prone they were to endorse the hawkish position. Naturally, this finding has...
View ArticleThis Is No Way to Run a Country
James Bruno offers a blunt assessment on the state of U.S. diplomacy vis-a-vis Russia: Russia has always taken diplomacy and its diplomats seriously. America, on the other hand, does not. Of this...
View ArticleA Partial List of All the Things President Obama Is Responsible For (Good and...
Establishing peace between the Israelis and Palestinians Containing China (aka pivoting to Asia) The civil war in Syria The breakdown of security in Iraq The state of internal security in Afghanistan...
View ArticleSyrian Fantasies
Former U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford is becoming an increasingly outspoken critic of the Obama administration's handling of the civil war there. Appearing on the News Hour, Ford made the by-now...
View ArticleWe Are Already Equipping al-Qaeda in Syria
The attack on Mosul from al-Qaeda elements fighting in Syria has led to the theft of U.S. equipment by Syrian rebels. More US-supplied equipment ends up in the hands of ISIS near #Mosul...
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Helping Hands
Via EmptyWheel. Washington is too often the firefighter and the arsonist...
View ArticleNow For More Bad News: Global Economy Looks Increasingly Shaky
As if there wasn't enough to worry about on the global stage, the Brookings Institute is out with a new report showing that the global economy is looking increasingly shaky. According to Brookings, the...
View ArticleObama's War on ISIS May Recycle Strategies That Have Already Failed
The stunning collapse of the Iraqi army, despite repeated assurances from U.S. military commanders that it was a competent fighting force, was a critical factor in enabling the Islamic State's...
View ArticleWhat's the World Scared Of?
While there's no shortage of things to worry about, a new survey from Pew Research has actually quantified what it is we fear. They've found (not suprisingly) that our fears depend very much on where...
View ArticleThe World Sees World War III Coming, Real Numbers Say Otherwise
The endless litany of global conflicts have provoked some very dark thoughts from global publics, according to a survey conducted by Ipsos and sponsored by the Halifax Forum. A full 83 percent said the...
View ArticleThis Just In: Afghanistan Is in Bad Shape
As President Obama faces pressure to step up the campaign against ISIS, Gallup is out with some new research into the wellbeing of Afghanistan -- a country that has been on the receiving end of...
View ArticleAround the World, Pope Francis Is a Hit
Even before his observation that dogs go to heaven, Pope Francis has proven remarkably popular around the world. Now, Pew Research has quantified just how popular. Across 43 nations surveyed, the Pope...
View ArticleAmericans Don't Want a Ground War on ISIS
Most Americans do not want to see ground troops deployed to fight the Islamic State in the Middle East, according to a new poll from the Brookings Institution. Despite 70 percent of respondents...
View ArticleThe World of 2050: More Muslims, Fewer Buddhists
If demographics truly are destiny, the world is destined to have nearly as many Muslims as Christians, fewer Buddhists, and a declining share of agnostics and atheists by the year 2050, according to a...
View ArticleHow Much Did Russia 'Win' in Syria?
Russia's announcement that it is pulling troops out of Syria has been met with surprise from the Obama administration and a fair amount of clucking from pundits who see it as a vindication of Vladimir...
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