Post #487: The National Security Strategy Paper on China
The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy paper released this month is filled with nasty, nativist language and half-truths straight out of the Project 2025 playbook. But amidst the bluster about historic success in strengthening national security and claims about resolving wars is a stark…
Post #486: The US National Security Strategy Paper Puts Europe on Edge
The Trump administration has issued a National Security Strategy (NSS) document that fundamentally transforms US relations with Europe. Traditional closeness is out; open hostility to liberal governments and alignment with far-right parties are in. Europe, says the document, is facing the “stark prospect of…
Post #485: The Trump Peace Plan: A Study in Diplomatic Malfeasance
Coaching Russia The official US line on how the peace plan to end the Ukraine war emerged has Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner developing it, Marco Rubio endorsing it, and then Russia assenting to it. But that story does not hold…
Post #484: Zelensky’s Predicament
A Plan for Ukraine Without Ukraine’s Consent The US has forged a peace proposal with Russia that, as the French are putting it, amounts to Ukraine’s capitulation. For President Volodymyr Zelensky, the worst possible world stares him in the face—a world in which Ukraine…
Post#483: Wag the Dog in Venezuela
Analysis of why countries go to war sometimes argues that leaders are motivated by problems at home. They attack another country to divert attention from an economic crisis, an unlawful act, or—as in the Robert De Niro movie, Wag the Dog—a sex scandal. In…
Post #482: Trump’s War on America
The Abuse of “National Security” Throughout much of the post-World War II history of American foreign policy, national security has meant international security—that is, defense of the US homeland was believed to require a global military presence, the world’s highest military spending, and regular…
Post #481: No Big Deal: The Trump-Xi Meeting in Korea
Promises, Promises The much-awaited meeting in Korea between Pres. Trump and Pres. Xi Jinping promised—according to Trump—a major trade deal. The Chinese seemed prepared to offer much less. In remarks to Trump, Xi repeated Chinese refrains about the need for cooperation, stressed that the…
Post #480: Gunboat Diplomacy in the Caribbean
Disproportionate Force, Hidden Motives The Trump administration has now conducted ten known strikes on boats off the Venezuelan and Colombian coasts that supposedly carry drugs destined for the US. The administration has now amassed a veritable armada in the region—several attack boats, a nuclear-capable…
Post #479: A Plan for Halting the Ukraine War
Separating the Practical from the Ideal Intractable conflicts are wars without end, and Russia’s war with Ukraine seems to fit the bill. Now three and a half years old, the war goes on without any sign of a letup in the violence. Neither side…
Post #478: The Gaza War May End, but Peace Remains Elusive
Some Questions Hamas has accepted Donald Trump’s plan for ending the Gaza war. Under the plan, Hamas, in exchange for the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans in prison, will release all remaining hostages and the remains of others; will disarm; and…
Post #477: Trump’s Dangerous Distortion of National Security
During a large part of the post-World War II history of American foreign policy, national security meant international security—that is, defense of the US homeland was believed to require a global military presence and regular interventions—political, military, economic—in the affairs of other countries. The…
Post #476: Playing Trump
One cannot examine the wars in Ukraine and Gaza without noticing certain parallels. First and foremost are the human and economic costs of aggression. Those costs are staggering, and how they might be made up is anybody’s guess, since the aggressors—Russia and Israel—are not…
Post #475: Trump Upends the International Economic Order
Protectionism by Another Name Tariff hikes across the board, political interference through trade threats, pressure on US multinational corporations, supply chain disruptions—these are among the ways the Trump administration is trying to change economic globalization, from one based on consensus among the major trading…
Post #474: Trump, Drugs, and War
Murder License Issued The sinking of a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela has turned out to have ominous political and military implications. President Trump has taken the entirely illegal (and irrational) step of authorizing the US military to issue shoot-to-kill orders against suspected…
Post #473: A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump? Inconceivable
Four US presidents have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter, and Barack Obama. Donald Trump is determined to be the fifth recipient. He has been campaigning for a Nobel, which is decided by a Norwegian committee appointed by…
Post #472: Honeymoon Over: Trump Divorces India
Friends No More In 2019, Donald Trump and Narendra Modi paraded their bromance with a 50,000-person “Howdy Modi” rally in Houston. They followed that up with a “Namaste Trump” 100,000-person event in India. As recently as February, Trump lavished praise on Modi, saying the…
Post #471: Sellout: The Trump-Putin Summit in Alaska
The Trump Turnabout Pres. Trump emerged from a much shorter meeting than expected with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage to say there was “no deal” but an “extremely productive” meeting in which “many points” were agreed to. What points? Neither leader provided any details…
Post #470: Will the US Invade Mexico?
The Limits of Friendship Donald Trump is proving time and again to foreign leaders that counting on friendly relations is senseless. Most recently, India, Canada, Ukraine, and Brazil discovered that, contrary to expectations, Trump is not influenced by historical ties or long-term common interests.…
Post #469: Israel and Genocide
What is Genocide? Many scholars and progressives are reluctant to call Israel’s actions in Gaza genocide. They will agree that Israel’s behavior is abominable and atrocious but nevertheless falls below the threshold of a genocide. Their reasoning may stem from partiality toward Israel…
Post #468: The Gutting of America’s Scientific Research
Once Upon a Time There was a time not too long ago when American scientists and American research facilities were the envy of the world. In those days, our scientists typically swept Nobel and other international prizes. Not any more; the Trump administration’s…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 