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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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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…

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9Mar 2026
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ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION

China Inside and Out: Politics and Policies in a Turbulent World (Bloomsbury Academic). THIS BOOK OF FOCUSED READINGS AND DOCUMENTS…

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7Mar 2026
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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…

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BLOG…

Post #106: Deadlock: North Korea’s Nuclear Test and US Policy

2 Feb 201627 Feb 2017
North Korea continues to rattle the cages of both friend and foe.  Despite near-universal condemnation of its fourth nuclear test and a deplorable human rights record, Kim Jong-un defiantly disregards…
BLOG…

Post #105: Time for a Reset in US-Saudi Relations

27 Jan 201627 Feb 2017
  The growing rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran is reportedly causing great consternation in US policymaking circles (www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/us/politics/us-struggles-to-explain-alliance-with-saudis.html).  Once again, US officials are called upon to decide whether to…
BLOG…

Post #104 –Engaging and Apologizing: Two Exercises, Different Results

18 Jan 201627 Feb 2017
The art and wisdom of engaging and apologizing to adversaries was on display in recent days in two very different settings, one in East Asia and the other in the…
BLOG…

Post #103: Terrorism, American Style

4 Jan 201627 Feb 2017
As the popularity of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and other race-baiting antidemocratic politicians attest, a significant portion of the American public is hostile to Washington, whether with respect to expansion…
BLOG…

Post #102 – Endless War, Undeclared and Undebated

27 Dec 201527 Feb 2017
The death of six US soldiers in Afghanistan on December 21 at the hands of a Taliban suicide bomber brings to twenty-one the number of US combat deaths there in…
American Politics and the World…

Post #101: The Paris Climate-Change Agreement: Hold the Champagne

15 Dec 201527 Feb 2017
  Ban Ki-moon called it “a monumental success for the planet and its people.”  Secretary of State Kerry said it was “a tremendous victory for all of our citizens—not for…
BLOG…

Post #100: China in Paris

7 Dec 201527 Feb 2017
Xi Jinping is a lucky man: He got to spend a few days in Paris, at the UN Conference on Climate Change, while his fellow Beijingers suffered under some of…
BLOG…

Post #99: After Paris, What?

21 Nov 201527 Feb 2017
In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, the community of security experts in the US and abroad seems already to have formed a consensus about what happened, why it…
BLOG…

Post #98: Reality Check on China

13 Nov 201527 Feb 2017
Will the real China please stand up?  In the US media, most stories about China raise questions that amount to threat-mongering.  How can China’s “aggressiveness” in the South China Sea…
BLOG…

Post #97: Arming Dictators: An American Tradition

29 Oct 201527 Feb 2017
Last week the Obama administration announced another military aid package for Pakistan: eight F-16 fighter jets.  Once again considerations of human rights and democratic values have been sacrificed to strategic…
BLOG…

Post #96: Truth and Consequences

21 Oct 201527 Feb 2017
A recently discovered piece of Vietnam War history has new meaning today. At the same time that Richard Nixon was telling the public that the US air war in Vietnam…
BLOG…

Post #95: Corporate Irresponsibility and Climate Change

14 Oct 201527 Feb 2017
  Research by the Union of Concerned Scientists (ucs.org) finds that 90 global organizations account for about two-thirds of industrial carbon pollution, and that historically, over 12 percent of such…

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bombless's avatarbombless on ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #497: Aggression in Iran
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…

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  • Post #498: Unexpected Gifts: Beijing and Moscow Gain from Trump’s War
  • ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
  • Post #497: Aggression in Iran
  • Post #496: War on Iran
  • Post #495: Trumped on Tariffs

Recent Comments

bombless's avatarbombless on ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PUBLICATION
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #497: Aggression in Iran
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
chiefbeardf273823bee's avatarchiefbeardf273823bee on Post #492: TACO Time or Wartim…
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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

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