APB APB: Trump’s Occupy Portland Gambit 17 Jul 202019 Jul 2020 Federal troops in camouflage, without identification, heavily armed, uncommunicative, roving in unmarked cars, seizing and incarcerating peaceful protesters without charging them. Acting without invitation. No reporting of this deployment to…
BLOG Post #266: Banana Republic or Constitutional Democracy? The US Military May Decide 24 Jun 202023 Jun 2020 Donald Trump’s appearance at the West Point graduation ceremonies a few weeks ago reminded some observers of the Class of 1986. That one class included several Trump appointees: Mark Esper…
BLOG Post #264: America’s Tiananmen? 5 Jun 20206 Jun 2020 "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross."--Sinclair Lewis Yesterday, June 4, is usually best remembered for the 1989 suppression in Beijing…
BLOG Post #256: NUKES: The Unmentionable Election Issue (Part 1) 9 Mar 20208 Mar 2020 Overkill More is Better One of these days, national security policy will get a few minutes of campaign debate time. And when that day occurs, perhaps—just perhaps—attention will turn to…
BLOG Post #253: Normal Nation? 6 Jan 20205 Jan 2020 With the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Donald Trump has arguably done more to undermine US interests in the Middle East and sow the seeds of a region-wide war than…
BLOG Post #250: The Afghanistan Pentagon Papers 10 Dec 20199 Dec 2019 The war in Afghanistan, America’s longest, has cost about 2,300 US lives, over 20,000 wounded, and about $1 trillion. Now, thanks to the persistence of the Washington Post, we have…
BLOG Post #246: Will Trump Leave Quietly? 24 Oct 201923 Oct 2019 On October 23, about two dozen unhappy Republican congress members stormed a closed hearing that was part of the impeachment inquiry, determined to show their loyalty to Trump (who knew…
BLOG Post #243: No War for Saudi Oil! 17 Sep 201922 Sep 2019 Even if US intelligence decisively shows that some of the drones and cruise missiles used in the attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields originated in Iran, a decision to go…
BLOG Post #238: Trump-Kim III: Making History Without Making Progress? 2 Jul 20192 Jul 2019 Taking a few steps onto North Korean soil, and posing for pictures with a friendly dictator, seem to fit Trump-era diplomacy better than a carefully laid out process. But unless…
APB APB: Trump’s Nightmare Budget 14 Mar 201913 Mar 2019 Two things can be said with certainty about Trump’s 2020 budget request: It is DOA, dead on arrival, in the House; and it is a political document, catering to his…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 