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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 #82—Man on the Run, and South Africa’s Failure to Detain Him

25 Jun 201527 Feb 2017
Margaret Thatcher once advised those delegates to the United Nations who criticize the organization for being weak to look in the mirror for the explanation.  International law is much the…
BLOG…

Post #81 – A Human-Interest Agenda for US-China Relations

16 Jun 201527 Feb 2017
I have just published the following article in China-US Focus, June 16: www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/creating-a-human-interest-agenda-for-u-s-china-relations/. For anyone interested in reading the longer version of Post #80 on the South China Sea dispute, please…
BLOG…

Post #80: The Looming US-China Crisis in the South China Sea

10 Jun 201527 Feb 2017
The long-running, multi-party dispute over control of islets in the South China Sea (SCS) is worsening both in rhetoric and provocative activity.  (For background, see my posts #23 and 41.)…
American Politics and the World…

Post #79: The Pentagon Slush Fund

1 Jun 201527 Feb 2017
Back in 1959, President Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Khrushchev took a break from their summit and walked in the woods around Camp David.  Khrushchev, in his memoirs, relates a conversation…
BLOG…

Post #78: The Middle East Quagmire: Give Peacemaking a Chance

23 May 201527 Feb 2017
The desperate state of US policy in the Middle East became apparent once again with the ISIS rout of the Iraqi army at Ramadi. It was another setback for US-supported…
American Politics and the World…

Post #77: Keep It in the Ground

13 May 201527 Feb 2017
On January 17 the New York Times reported that, to appease environmentalists, the Obama administration would “ban drilling in portions of the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.”  But in…
American Politics and the World…

Post #76 – TPP: A Deeply Flawed Partnership

4 May 201527 Feb 2017
(Note: A longer version of this post was subsequently published at http://japanfocus.org/-Mel-Gurtov/4318/article.html.) The American people have become used to government trickery in foreign affairs—wars and interventions based on lies and…
BLOG…

Post #75 – India’s Shame, and the World’s

23 Apr 201527 Feb 2017
A democracy is supposed to have the advantage of affording people of any social class, gender, or religious or ethnic group the opportunity to advance.  In contrast with authoritarian political…
BLOG…

Post #74 – After Cuba: Will Obama Follow Up with Venezuela?

14 Apr 201527 Feb 2017
A year ago mainstream news reports out of Venezuela suggested that the post-Hugo Chàvez era was going badly for his successor, Nicolás Maduro.  The US media painted a picture of…
BLOG…

Post #73 – The Iran Framework: A Case Study in Engagement

8 Apr 201527 Feb 2017
We have every reason to celebrate the so-called framework agreement with Iran.  It exemplifies the best of President Obama’s foreign policy, namely, engaging adversaries.  Remember when candidate Obama’s argument for…
BLOG…

Post #72 – An Enemy of Peace

30 Mar 201527 Feb 2017
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has established himself as the biggest enemy of peace in the Middle East.  His thoroughly unwelcome and error-marred speech to Congress on Iran, his last-minute…
BLOG…

Post #71 –Should We “Balance” Threats to the Environment?

23 Mar 201527 Feb 2017
How does a US administration promote greater energy independence, protect its fragile environment, and make both oil executives and environmentalists happy?  President Obama’s answer is to give something to everyone,…

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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…
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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

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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…
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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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