Post #514: Out of Control
Mentally Unstable Ordinarily, July 4 would be a time to celebrate the virtues of America. But whatever virtues we once possessed, Donald Trump and his inner circle of family and sycophants have abandoned them. Blind ambition, greed, and notorious self-promotion of the would-be king…
Post #513: The Missing Art of the Deal with Iran
Understanding the MOU Most of the critical commentary on the Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran centers on the specific commitments each side is supposed to have made and intends to carry out. But the MOU is not a peace agreement; it…
Post #512: Dissecting the US-Iran Agreement
The US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) has now been revealed, and it is clear why it took days before a US official read it out to reporters in advance of the signing ceremony. The deal commits the US to steps Trump vowed never to…
Post #511: Lebanon, Netanyahu’s Nightmare and Opportunity
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chances of reelection hinge on carrying on the war Hezbollah and keeping the fires burning with Iran. At the same time, he must assuage Donald Trump, who has called Netanyahu “crazy” for undermining US-Iran peace talks by continuing military…
Post #510: Defeats in the Middle East, One Place at a Time
President Donald Trump hates to lose, but he is on a losing streak in the Middle East—not just in Iran, where his illegal war has been a strategic and diplomatic disaster, but also in Gaza, Lebanon, and the US Congress. Israel’s military is out…
Post #509: The Crimes of the Trump Regime
(Note to the Reader: This is the fourth iteration of a blog originally posted after the first two weeks of the Trump administration. It is intended as a catalogue in six parts of the outrageous policies, actions, and behaviors of Donald Trump and his…
Post #508: This Reported End-of-War Agreement Shows Its Pointlessness
We’ve seen this movie several times already: Trump issues threats, Iran refuses to kneel, negotiators rush to Qatar, Trump or Rubio announces an imminent deal, and then optimism evaporates as it becomes clear that the two sides are miles apart. At which point the…
Post #507: The Trump-Xi Summit and the New World Order
A Transformed Relationship A study of five decades of US-China summitry by the Asia Society finds that “these meetings rarely transform the relationship. What they can do, when handled well, is make a potentially dangerous rivalry less volatile.” Breakthroughs are rare, but reducing tensions…
Post #506: China Plays It Smart in the Iran War
China has played a cautious hand on Iran. It has chosen not to try to defend a country that is a major source of oil and officially a “comprehensive strategic partner.” Instead, it has urged a diplomatic solution that will reopen the Strait of…
Post #505: Cuba’s Fate Should Not be in US Hands
Another Venezuela? Negotiations are ongoing between the US and Cuba as the Trump administration decides whether or not to apply the Venezuela model to Cuba. The US embargo remains in effect, with only one oil tanker—a Russian ship, loaded with 730,000 barrels of oil—allowed…
Post #504: Where We Are and Where We Need to Be on Iran
As another week of Trump’s war begins, it becomes ever more clear that all his presumptions about how the war would go have proven wrong. Iran’s economy has bent but not folded despite a blockade of its ports. Its ability to control the Strait…
Post #503: Why the US-Iran Talks Failed
The first face-to-face high-level talks between the US and Iran since 1979 have ended without agreement. Hardly surprising; both sides put forward positions not subject to actual bargaining. On the US side, according to JD Vance: “We need to see an affirmative commitment that…
Post #502: Trump’s Way of War
Stretching Presidential Power Donald Trump has made waging war more centered than ever before on presidential prerogative. The same president who once fulminated against his predecessors’ penchant for going to war has turned into an imperial leader who can’t get enough of it. He…
Post #501: Pete Hegseth’s Crusade
“When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.” – Sinclair Lewis Sinclair Lewis would have recognized Pete Hegseth immediately—a Christian nationalist whose religious beliefs, tattoos, and now his policies let everyone know he’s on a crusade…
Post #500: No Exit in Iran
A Hopeless US Proposal Donald Trump thinks a 15-point plan will end the war with Iran. Seems like a hope and a prayer. Predictably, Iran rejected it out of hand and has put forward its own plan, which the US will surely reject. Negotiations…
Post #499: Cuba is Trump’s Next Imperial Project
Another Nonexistent Threat Regime change in Cuba may be the next stop for the Trump war machine. Here’s what he told CNN in an interview March 6: “Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon . . . They want to make a deal, and so…
Post #498: Unexpected Gifts: Beijing and Moscow Gain from Trump’s War
I have previously commented about the strategic blunders the Trump regime has made in its war on Iran. Add this one: the gains both China and Russia have made at US expense. While the war has had costs for both those countries, on balance…
ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
China Inside and Out: Politics and Policies in a Turbulent World (Bloomsbury Academic). THIS BOOK OF FOCUSED READINGS AND DOCUMENTS COVERS BOTH INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC AFFAIRS OVER ROUGHLY THE LAST 20 YEARS, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON US-CHINA RELATIONS. WRITTEN WITH UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS…
Post #497: Aggression in Iran
Conduct that Defies Logic, Law, or Sound Purposes As the invasion of Iran grinds on and its boundaries expand, the House and Senate have rejected resolutions that would bring the savagery to a halt. I have to ask: What will it take to finally…
Post #496: War on Iran
Two days ago I did a podcast on the prospects for war with Iran. Here is what I wrote, followed by a brief update as the US and Israel launched attacks on several Iranian cities. The Illogic of War The Trump administration reportedly…
Post #495: Trumped on Tariffs
Reacting to Defeat Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” just got squashed. The Supreme Court on February 20 denied, by a 6-3 decision, the Trump administration’s power to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA). The ruling invalidates tariffs for around one…
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In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 