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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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25Apr 2026
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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…

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21Apr 202621 Apr 2026
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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…

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12Apr 202620 Apr 2026
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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…

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BLOG…

the Global Citizen Podcasts On Substack

7 Feb 20255 Aug 2025
Global Citizen podcasts are now available on Substack. Please subscribe (it's free) or listen to any podcast at https://melgurtov.substack.com. Here are the latest: #103: Israel and Genocide https://melgurtov.substack.com/p/global-citizen-international-digest-db2?r=geodg #102: Trump's…
BLOG

Post #449: The Limited Future of the Cease-fire in Gaza

26 Jan 202512 Feb 2025
(Note to Readers: This post first appeared January 26. I'm adding the final section to take account of the most recent developments.) The Israel-Hamas cease-fire has brought a measure of…
BLOG

Post #448: Iran’s Weakness, America’s Opportunity?

23 Jan 2025
Iran’s Problem-filled Situation Taking advantage of another’s troubles: That’s the danger Iran faces from the next US administration. Iran’s domestic and international positions have seriously weakened, inviting Donald Trump to…
BLOG

Post #447: The People’s List of Trump’s Worst (Part 2)

2 Jan 2025
[Note to Readers: In Part 1, I wrote about the big-time donors and loyalists who will populate Trump’s cabinet, inner circle, and ambassadorships. Elon Musk naturally stands out in that…
BLOG

Post #446: The Year Past and the Year Ahead

26 Dec 2024
The global citizen agenda for 2025 is very much like that for 2024—and probably for some years afterward. It includes global warming and related environmental crises; US-China tensions; challenges to…
BLOG

Post #445: The People’s List of Trump’s Worst (Part 1)

21 Dec 2024
The List Donald Trump has promised to go after enemies of the people, and will seek revenge against a list of individuals and organizations. But we the people have our…
BLOG

Post #444: The Collapse of Syria’s Dictatorship

9 Dec 2024
The Regime’s End They’re celebrating in the streets in Damascus. In a collapse as stunning and swift as that of the Soviet Union, the twenty-four years of Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorship…
BLOG

Post #443: Trump and China–The Rocky Road Ahead

22 Nov 2024
Cooperation or Competition? On November 7, 2024, Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message to President-elect Trump that said: “A stable, healthy, sustainably developing China-US relationship fits with the common interests…
BLOG

Post #442: Donald Trump’s Tariff Fantasies

15 Nov 202415 Nov 2024
Tariff Man             Donald Trump thinks the world of tariffs. “Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” Trump said in September at a town hall event in Michigan. On another…
BLOG

Post #441: The Nightmare Returns

6 Nov 2024
Fascism in Charge             In his novel The Plot Against America, Philip Roth depicts the rise to the presidency in the late 1930s of Charles Lindbergh, the pilot who made…
APB

APB: The Atlantic’s Endorsement of Kamala Harris

29 Oct 2024
The Atlantic’s endorsement was published on October 10, 2024. For the third time in eight years, Americans have to decide whether they want Donald Trump to be their president. No…
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APB: An Open Letter to Vice President Kamala Harris on US Middle East Policy

26 Oct 2024
Dear Madam Vice President:             In a phone call with Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month, Donald Trump said: “Do what you have to do,” according to six people familiar with…

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Unknown's avatarCuba’s Fate Should N… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
larrykirsch's avatarlarrykirsch on Post #505: Cuba’s Fate S…
Mark Selden's avatarMark Selden on Post #505: Cuba’s Fate S…
Bob Wise's avatarBob Wise on Post #504: Where We Are and Wh…
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #500: No Exit in Iran

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  • Post #505: Cuba’s Fate Should Not be in US Hands
  • Post #504: Where We Are and Where We Need to Be on Iran
  • Post #503: Why the US-Iran Talks Failed
  • Post #502: Trump’s Way of War
  • Post #501: Pete Hegseth’s Crusade

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Unknown's avatarCuba’s Fate Should N… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
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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
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  • Canada’s PM Sets an Independent Course
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