21 Jan, 2022
How to Avoid War Over Ukraine
The threat of a major war hangs over eastern Europe. Four different negotiating forums between Russia and NATO on the Ukraine situation have not gone well.
14 Jan, 2022
Destroying Democracy: China in Hong Kong
On July 1, 1997 the United Kingdom formally handed Hong Kong over to China under an agreement that was supposed to give Hong Kong 50 years of autonomy: “one country, two systems,” Deng Xiaoping promised.
21 Dec, 2021
The battle over cobalt
Cobalt is a valuable mineral that is the subject of intense international competition...
20 Dec, 2021
Downhill from the Summit for Democracy
The just-concluded Summit for Democracy was intended to be a rallying point for democratic and nearly-democratic states, with pep talks on confronting rising authoritarianism and building democratic institutions...
12 Dec, 2021
Putin’s Democracy Problem: Civil Society and Ukraine
Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish two very dangerous tasks at once: the destruction of civil society in Russia, and the withering away of international support for a democratic Ukraine...
29 Nov, 2021
The US and Yemen: Putting a Disreputable Policy Right
In Yemen, Saudi Arabian and Iranian interests collide, a civil war involving multiple parties has devastated the country, important issues of international law...
18 Nov, 2021
Finding Common Ground with China
“It seems clear to me we need to establish some common-sense guardrails,” President Biden told President Xi Jinping in their November 16 virtual summit. Xi reportedly replied to his “old friend”...
13 Nov, 2021
Israel’s new leadership offers nothing new to Palestinians
How have Israeli-Palestinian relations changed since the end of the right-wing Netanyahu government? The short answer: Not much; a right-wing government is still in charge...
30 Oct, 2021
Dim Prospects for Climate Mitigation
Just in time for the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the Biden administration has released the National Intelligence Estimate: Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040...
21 Oct, 2021
Gravy train: Corporate profiteering on national defense
A long time ago, Gordon Adams introduced the term “iron triangle” to characterize the interlocked relationship of the Pentagon’s military services, the corporations that contract with it to build weapons and provide services, and the Congressional committees that vote on military appropriations—in short...
12 Oct, 2021
Dissecting North Korea’s missile tests
Dissecting North Korea’s missile tests by Mel Gurtov 902 words North Korea is carrying out one missile test after another...
2 Oct, 2021
Dim Prospects for Climate Mitigation
Just in time for the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, the Biden administration has released the National Intelligence Estimate: Climate Change and International Responses Increasing Challenges to US National Security Through 2040...
28 Sep, 2021
Donald J. Trump: Traitor
The Coup Attempt
“There is an unfolding assault taking place in America today,” President Biden said in Philadelphia on July 13. “An attempt to suppress and subvert the right to vote in fair and free elections, an assault on democracy, an assault on liberty, an assault on who we are — who we are as Americans.”...
24 Sep, 2021
The China Initiative, a flawed and dysfunctional policy
President Biden is continuing the disengagement policy toward China that began under Donald Trump, with strong bipartisan support...
15 Sep, 2021
The US and Yemen: Putting a disreputable policy right
Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Houthis, bombing, UNICEF, Obama, Trump, Biden, starvation, MBS...