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In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

Critical appraisals of foreign affairs and politics from a global-citizen perspective

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1Feb 2026
2 Comments

Post #492: TACO Time or Wartime? Examining Trump’s Latest Threats

Donald Trump is on the warpath again, threatening Greenland, Iran, Canada, and Cuba. Will he be TACO—Trump Always Chickens Out—or…

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18Jan 202618 Jan 2026
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Post #491: The Second American Declaration

WHEN in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to decide that a government that purports to represent the…

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6Jan 2026
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Post #490: The United States is an International Lawbreaker

The illegality of US intervention in Venezuela has been amply cited with reference to its attacks on alleged drug boats,…

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BLOG

Post #482: Trump’s War on America

12 Nov 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #481: No Big Deal: The Trump-Xi Meeting in Korea

3 Nov 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #480: Gunboat Diplomacy in the Caribbean

27 Oct 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #479: A Plan for Halting the Ukraine War

17 Oct 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #478: The Gaza War May End, but Peace Remains Elusive

9 Oct 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #477: Trump’s Dangerous Distortion of National Security

1 Oct 20252 Oct 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #476: Playing Trump

20 Sep 202521 Sep 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #475: Trump Upends the International Economic Order

11 Sep 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #474: Trump, Drugs, and War

6 Sep 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #473: A Nobel Peace Prize for Trump? Inconceivable

31 Aug 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #472: Honeymoon Over: Trump Divorces India

23 Aug 2025
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…
BLOG

Post #471: Sellout: The Trump-Putin Summit in Alaska

16 Aug 202516 Aug 2025
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…

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Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
chiefbeardf273823bee's avatarchiefbeardf273823bee on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
Unknown's avatarPortland State Unive… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #491: The Second American…
peter@drbechtold.com's avatarpeter@drbechtold.com on Post #491: The Second American…

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Recent Posts

  • Post #492: TACO Time or Wartime? Examining Trump’s Latest Threats
  • Post #491: The Second American Declaration
  • Post #490: The United States is an International Lawbreaker
  • APB: Regime Change in Venezuela
  • Post #489: The Year in Review

Recent Comments

Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
chiefbeardf273823bee's avatarchiefbeardf273823bee on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
Unknown's avatarPortland State Unive… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #491: The Second American…
peter@drbechtold.com's avatarpeter@drbechtold.com on Post #491: The Second American…

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Listen to my "Global Citizen" commentaries every Tuesday, 5:25 pm, on KBOO.fm (Portland area) and Wednesdays on KXCR.net (Florence, OR area). The Global Citizen International Digest of the week's news is on KBOO Thursdays at 5:30 pm and is also on SUBSTACK, free, via https://melgurtov.substack.com

  • A philanthropist makes a grand pledge for conservation
  • Making China a U.S. enemy is counterproductive
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • Canada’s PM Sets an Independent Course
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