Skip to content
In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

In the Human Interest – Mel Gurtov

Critical appraisals of foreign affairs and politics from a global-citizen perspective

Search
  • A philanthropist makes a grand pledge for conservation
  • Making China a U.S. enemy is counterproductive
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • ABOUT
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • FEATURED BLOGS
  • Recent Publications

Tag: The Pentagon

BLOG

Post #340: The Arsenal, But Not of Democracy

4 Jun 202210 Jun 2022
The audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/61577/48-an-arsenal-but-not-of-democracy.mp3    America is awash with weapons, and the tragic consequences are before us every day. The world is also awash with…
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 #222: Road to Ruin: Trump’s Middle East Retreat

22 Dec 201822 Dec 2018
The flight of the generals is now complete with the resignation of General James Mattis—the last of the four generals to depart, and the last to give up the naïve…
BLOG

Post #215: On Dealing with China

18 Sep 201826 Sep 2018
(Note: A slightly different version of this article has been published as "The China Conundrum" at https://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/the-china-conundrum.) A Self-Confident China Ever since China’s economic reforms began in 1978, the goal…
BLOG…

Post #119 – Too Close for Comfort: The Dangerous US-China Maritime Dispute

11 Jun 201627 Feb 2017
The Background              Two recent close encounters between US spy planes and Chinese jets spell trouble for relations between Washington and Beijing.  The first occurred over the South China Sea…
American Politics and the World…

Post #113: Nuclear Insecurity

5 Apr 201627 Feb 2017
The fourth Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by President Obama, has just ended.  The focus was on terrorism, a perfectly reasonable topic.  But the larger question, not taken up by the…
BLOG…

Post #108: Dark Spots, Light Spots, and Apple’s Protest

23 Feb 201627 Feb 2017
  How’s this for bad choices?  A recent study by a Harvard group contended with the position of US intelligence agencies that tracking possible terrorists was becoming more difficult because…
BLOG…

Post #107 – Is US-Russia Engagement Still Possible?

11 Feb 201627 Feb 2017
President Obama’s failed attempt to “reset” US-Russia relations raises the question whether or not engaging Russia in the fullest sense is still possible. I think not, at least for the…
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…
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 #86: With Friends Like These

6 Aug 201527 Feb 2017
The Pentagon Papers record a last-minute conversation between President Dwight Eisenhower and President-elect John F. Kennedy on Inauguration Day. The subject was the war in Indochina, which already was going…
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…

Posts navigation

Older posts

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Recommended

  • Dali Yang reviews Minxin Pei’s book on endemic corruption in China
  • “1984” in Xinjiang, China
  • Career US Foreign Service officer and China expert offers advice on US-China relations
  • Who profits from nuclear weapons?
  • World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity: Second Notice
  • UN Special Rapporteur’s report on extreme poverty in America
  • A former nuclear regulator now wants to ban N-power
  • 900 Former Prosecutors Say Trump Guilty of Obstruction of Justice
  • Open Letter: China is not the enemy
  • The Dangerous Anti-China Consensus in the US
  • A patriotic ambassador tells the truth about Ukraine
  • US House Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Report
  • A Song for the Times
  • Making China a US Enemy is Counterproductive
  • Putting America back together
  • Goodbye, Donald Trump
  • Democracy scholars’ warning
  • All the King’s (DJT) Lawsuits
  • Rep. Liz Cheney’s Opening Statement at Jan. 6 Committee Hearing
  • Rep. Bennie Thompson’s Opening Statement at Jan. 6 Committee Hearing
  • Is Criticism of Israel Anti-Semitism?
  • Democracy Scholars Warning
  • Timothy Snyder on Tyranny
  • Trump vs. US: Sotomayor’s Dissent
  • 50 Legal Experts Shocked about Trump Lawlessness
  • Ai Weiwei’s “Camouflage” Exhibit in NYC

Recent Comments

Unknown's avatar“We Want Europe To R… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
Russell White's avatarRussell White on APB: US Immigration Policy at…
Jerry Slepack's avatarJerry Slepack on APB: US Immigration Policy at…
douglasbelknap's avatardouglasbelknap on Post #485: The Trump Peace Pla…
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #485: The Trump Peace Pla…

Search Posts

Archives

Follow me on Facebook

Follow me on Facebook

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 753 other subscribers

Follow by RSS

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Search Posts

Recent Posts

  • Post #487: The National Security Strategy Paper on China
  • APB: US Immigration Policy at a Glance
  • Post #486: The US National Security Strategy Paper Puts Europe on Edge
  • Post #485: The Trump Peace Plan: A Study in Diplomatic Malfeasance
  • Post #484: Zelensky’s Predicament

Recent Comments

Unknown's avatar“We Want Europe To R… on Post #219: Is China a “Respons…
Russell White's avatarRussell White on APB: US Immigration Policy at…
Jerry Slepack's avatarJerry Slepack on APB: US Immigration Policy at…
douglasbelknap's avatardouglasbelknap on Post #485: The Trump Peace Pla…
Mel Gurtov's avatarMel Gurtov on Post #485: The Trump Peace Pla…

Archives

Meta

  • Create account
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.com

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
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
Website Powered by WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov
    • Join 492 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.