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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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Tag: Iraq

APB

APB: Thanks to Trump, Iran Has the Upper Hand

8 Jan 20208 Jan 2020
The assassination of General Soleimani is proving to be a resounding success for Iran. It accomplished what the ayatollah could not: common ground between Iran and Iraq, Iraq’s invitation to…
BLOG

Post #252: No Room for Dialogue

3 Jan 20203 Jan 2020
“Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak, and he’s ineffective. So the only way he figures that he’s going…
American Politics and the World…

Post #130: Notes from the First Debate

28 Sep 201627 Feb 2017
Now that a few days have passed since the first Clinton-Trump debate, I want to offer a few evaluations.  Prior to the debate, pundits said that Trump needed to moderate…
BLOG…

Post #127: Mission Impossible in the Middle East

1 Sep 201627 Feb 2017
We all know from personal experience how difficult it is to burn the candle at both ends when we’re trying to satisfy two people who are at odds with one…
American Politics and the World…

Post #118: Cowgirl Diplomacy? Foreign Policy Under Hillary Clinton

24 May 201627 Feb 2017
America’s mainstream media, ever attracted to the splashy rather than the serious, has a new topic to occupy the time until Election Day: President Trump.  What will he do first? …
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…
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 #70 – When It Comes to Foreign Policy, Obama Has the Upper Hand

13 Mar 201527 Feb 2017
The President and quite a few members of Congress are at a standoff over two important issues of foreign-policy process.  Many in Congress, from both parties, dislike his proposal for…
BLOG…

Post #67 – Presidents and War

14 Feb 201527 Feb 2017
President Obama has submitted a request to Congress for authorization—actually, reauthorization—of wars the United States has been fighting for many years.  Though he considered the initial authorization in 2001 to…
BLOG…

Post #30 – Their War, Our War

21 Jun 201427 Feb 2017
In one of his last public statements on the war in Vietnam, a televised interview on September 2, 1963, President Kennedy said that in the end the South Vietnamese government…
BLOG…

Post #29 – Obstacle Course: Engaging Iran

19 Jun 201427 Feb 2017
If the ongoing negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program fail to result in a comprehensive agreement by the July 20 deadline—an interim deal has been in place since January—it…

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