The ongoing war in Afghanistan—America’s longest (and most expensive) conflict to date—is a mess and the military has no idea how to clean it up. What began as a simple punitive expedition targeting the terrorists responsible for 9/11 has become an indefinite nation-building exercise that is draining the United States military of vital
President Donald J. Trump has marched headlong into another escalating crisis—this time with the imploding Venezuela. And this one is altogether avoidable. Although the growing unrest in Venezuela threatens to destabilize Latin America, it appears the president believes he can link the troubles there with the showdown with North Korea. This is a
President Trump on Wednesday signed legislation sanctioning Russia for its purported hacking of last year’s presidential election. The new law not only needlessly threatens to escalate an already-tense situation with Russia, it also undermines the separation of powers, as it denies the president the ability to remove those sanctions as he sees fit.
A shocking event has occurred in the meandering psychodrama of America’s relationship with North Korea: the world’s great powers have unanimously voted to intensify sanctions against the Hermit Kingdom, as Kim Jong-un continues to push his nuclear weapons program. The United Nations Security Council—which includes North Korea’s two biggest benefactors, China and Russia—seems
Washington is atwitter with talk of sanctions. Lawmakers left and right are riding high, as they “cry havoc!” and let slip the dogs of economic warfare. The buzz and excitement in the imperial capital is reminiscent of the days leading up to the Iraq War in 2003 (which does not bode well for
Much has been written in recent months of the “existential” nature of the Russian threat. Yet, as I’ve documented here and at my website, the threat is nowhere near as existential as the War Boys in Washington are making it sound. Russia today is a shadow of its former self. After the Cold
Since Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, a constant drumbeat of Russophobia has resounded throughout the halls of power. Today, the drumbeat has become so deafening that Congress’s already self-imposed inability to legislate has been made even worse, if you can believe it. In turn, this clamorous Russophobia has needlessly blunted the
I’ve spent a long time arguing against the executive agreement that the Obama Administration inked with Iran in 2015. One of the earliest points of agreement that I had with President Donald Trump was over his consistent, forceful, criticism of that deal as “the worst deal” in history. Recently, however, I’ve become dismayed
Ian Bremmer, the bookish president of the Eurasia Group, the world’s largest geopolitical risk firm, broke a story that MSNBC has turned into the next ridiculous chapter in the Trump-Russia “collusion” psychodrama. The Stanford-educated political scientist (and occasional fill-in host for Charlie Rose) made headlines this week when he broke the news that,
Since June, a Saudi Arabian-led coalition of Arab states that includes Egypt and Jordan have initiated a blockade against the small Arab state of Qatar. This is a strange state of affairs, since the dividing line in the Middle East today is between the Sunni Muslim and Shia Muslim community. Qatar is predominantly
