BLOG Post #342: Europe’s Uneasy Unity on the War in Ukraine 28 Jun 202226 Jun 2022 The audio of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/63347/50-europes-uneasy-unity-in-the-ukraine-war.mp3. Welcoming the leaders of Finland and Sweden to Washington on May 19, President Biden said that “what makes NATO strong…
BLOG Post #339: Biden, Taiwan, and Strategic Ambiguity 27 May 202228 May 2022 An audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/60974/47-biden-taiwan-and-strategic-ambiguity.mp3 Defending Taiwan At a stopover in Tokyo during his Asia trip, President Biden was asked whether the US would “defend Taiwan”…
BLOG Post #336: Loose Lips Can Sink Peace 9 May 20228 May 2022 During World War II, US sailors were warned: Loose lips sink ships. A similar warning should have gone out to all US officials in recent days—and the President should…
BLOG Post #335: The Coming Old New Order 30 Apr 2022 From Cold War to Cold War A principal lesson of the war in Ukraine is that the Cold War never ended. German reunification, the Soviet Union’s collapse, new entries…
BLOG Post #331: When Will It End, and How? 30 Mar 202229 Mar 2022 The podcast of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/55380/40-when-will-it-end-and-how.mp3 How will it end? In the wake of Ukraine’s stunning and stubborn resistance to Putin’s invasion, the question whose answer once seemed…
BLOG Post #330: An Engagement Moment for the US and China 20 Mar 202222 Mar 2022 Listen to this blog at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/54894/39-an-engagement-moment-with-china-on-ukraine.mp3 One of the more interesting developments in Putin’s war on Ukraine is the retreat of China from full-fledged support of Russia. When the Russian…
BLOG Post #329: Thinking About the Unthinkable in the Ukraine Crisis 11 Mar 202212 Mar 2022 The audio version is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/54040/38-thinking-about-the-unthinkable-in-the-ukraine-crisis.mp3 We might be inclined to think that the most urgent decisions on Ukraine have been made: decisions on military aid to the Ukraine government,…
BLOG Post #328: Putin’s Nightmare 4 Mar 20224 Mar 2022 Audio version available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/53431/37-putins-nightmare.mp3. Three Silver Linings In the midst of a crisis with great loss of life and property, it might be unseemly to suggest that there are…
BLOG Post #327: Putin’s War 24 Feb 202225 Feb 2022 Shortly after Joe Biden took office, a distinguished political science professor (whom I won’t name) advised the new administration to engage with Russia in order to stop the Chinese threat.…
BLOG Post #326: Employing Confidence Building Measures in the Ukraine Crisis 18 Feb 2022 The audio of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/52277/35-confidence-building-measures-in-the-ukraine-crisis.mp3. Last week a tiny back-page item in the New York Times reported that the president of Ukraine had come to believe…
BLOG Post #325: China’s Careful Dance Around the Ukraine Crisis 6 Feb 20225 Feb 2022 The podcast of this blog may be heard at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/50923/34-china-russia-relations-and-the-ukraine-crisis.mp3 Reports out of Washington suggest worry over a Russia-China partnership that would facilitate Vladimir Putin’s presumed ambition to absorb Ukraine…
BLOG Post #324 – How to Avoid War Over Ukraine 21 Jan 2022 The threat of a major war hangs over eastern Europe. Four different negotiating forums between Russia and NATO on the Ukraine situation have not gone well. The two sides…
BLOG Post #320: Putin’s Democracy Problem: Civil Society and Ukraine 11 Dec 2021 Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish two very dangerous tasks at once: the destruction of civil society in Russia, and the withering away of international support for a democratic Ukraine.…
BLOG Post #151: Trump, Europe, and Chaos 20 Feb 201727 Feb 2017 Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of Defense James Mattis went to the Munich Security Conference with reassurances about the US commitment to NATO. But their visit was anything but…
BLOG… Post #66 – Playing “Chicken” in Ukraine 6 Feb 201527 Feb 2017 Should the US dramatically increase military support to Ukraine as it faces defiant separatists in the east who are backed by Russian intelligence, advisers, and heavy weapons? Key members of…
In the Human Interest - Mel Gurtov 