15 Jan, 2023
Ukraine’s Future: Peace Through War?
Ukraine’s Future: Peace Through War? by Mel Gurtov 1031 words Published in: Elizabethton Star, Counterpunch, My Johnstown Breeze, The Enterprise,...
15 Jan, 2023
3 Jan, 2023
The Threat Business: Russia or China?
Dual Enemies For those in charge of US national security, the central challenge is identifying threats and determining how to counter them. The Biden administration has cast China and Russia, in that order, as the major threats to US security...
14 Dec, 2022
The Iran Protests and US Policy
The Iran Protests and US Policy by Mel Gurtov 875 words Published in: Eagle Times, In the Human Interest, LA...
4 Dec, 2022
China’s COVID uprising
Significant dissent in China reared its head for the first time since the Tiananmen uprising in 1989. In many of China’s major cities, protesters joined hands to denounce the COVID restrictions and, though not in all cases, also denounce the Chinese Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping.
22 Nov, 2022
The Biden-Xi summit in Bali
Some Reasons for Optimism The much-ballyhooed first in-person summit between Pres. Biden and Xi Jinping on November 14 went off pretty well.
15 Nov, 2022
A Post-Election Caution
What a difference a day makes, as the old song goes. The day before Election Day, liberals and progressives feared the worst: a solidly MAGA takeover of the House and Senate. Consider these expectations that proved unwarranted:
11 Nov, 2022
Israel’s religious terrorists
No one should be surprised to find Benjamin Netanyahu back as prime minister of Israel, with decisive support from far-right religious extremists.
4 Nov, 2022
Time to reset military relations with Saudi Arabia
An Uneven Balance Sheet Saudi Arabia and OPEC have decided to cut oil production by two million barrels a day.
23 Oct, 2022
Europe’s far-right lurch
The struggle to save democracy is proving even more difficult in Europe than here in the US. Virtually every European country is bedeviled by rising conflict between traditional political parties on one side and far-right, sometimes neo-fascist parties on the other.
14 Oct, 2022
Can Russia’s use of a nuclear weapon in the Ukraine war be prevented?
President Biden surprised his top advisers along with everyone else when, at a fundraising event, he referred to “Armageddon” in the Ukraine war: Russia’s possible use of a nuclear weapon.
30 Sep, 2022
Predictions of a Ukraine victory are premature
Something extraordinary is happening in the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Putin is taking a hit from all sides. Opposition to the war is coming from home and abroad.
5 Sep, 2022
Brazil’s election and the future of the Amazon
The Candidates: Worlds Apart On October 2 we will have a presidential election in Brazil of enormous consequence for the planet.
5 Sep, 2022
Brazil’s election and the future of the Amazon
The Candidates: Worlds Apart On October 2 we will have a presidential election in Brazil of enormous consequence for the planet.
24 Aug, 2022
Another missed opportunity in US-China relations
The Washington Post reports that Xi Jinping personally asked President Biden to find a way to put off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
12 Aug, 2022
The great energy game in Europe
It won’t be long before winter descends on Europe. Before it does, most European countries must address the question of how long and how well they will be able to handle decoupling from Russian energy.