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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: US foreign policy

APB

APB: Kissinger at 100

27 May 2023
            At the ripe age of 100, Henry Kissinger remains an icon of the governing class and the foreign policy establishment. Amazingly, his advice is still sought, he writes lucidly…
BLOG

Post #375: Out of Touch: The US-China Communications Gap

21 May 202322 May 2023
Among the many troubling trends in US-China relations these days is the lack of high-level diplomatic engagement. Until a few weeks ago, only John Kerry, Biden’s special envoy on climate…
BLOG

Post #373: Nuclear Politics: The US-South Korea “Washington Declaration”

5 May 20235 May 2023
The US-Republic of Korea (ROK) alliance began in 1953, at the end of the Korean War. Now seventy years later, President Biden and Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol met to cement…
BLOG

Post #367: Deepening Tensions on the Korean Peninsula Demand New Thinking in Washington

18 Mar 202318 Mar 2023
The Mounting Danger Tensions on the Korean peninsula have reached a new level of intensity. North Korea’s foreign ministry issued a statement Feb. 17 in anticipation of another round of…
BLOG

Post #365: The Coup in Israel

28 Feb 202328 Feb 2023
Israel has always been touted as America’s most reliable friend in the Middle East, a bastion of democracy in a region dominated by autocracies. Now that picture is fraying as…
BLOG

Post #361: Ukraine’s Future: Peace Through War?

14 Jan 202315 Jan 2023
Hopes and Realities Ukraine’s President Zelensky had a fairly successful visit to Washington last month, returning home with promises of more American weapons and unqualified US backing for Ukraine’s war…
BLOG

Post #360 The Threat Business: China or Russia?

2 Jan 20233 Jan 2023
Dual Enemies For those in charge of US national security, the central challenge is identifying threats and determining how to counter them. The Biden administration has cast China and Russia,…
BLOG

Post #359: The Iran Protests and US Policy

13 Dec 202212 Dec 2022
"Women, Life, Freedom" Streets in dozens of Iran cities are filled with angry people in popular protests that have already gone on much longer—three months and counting—than those in 2009…
BLOG

Post #357: The Biden-Xi Summit in Bali

22 Nov 202222 Nov 2022
Some Reasons for Optimism             The much-ballyhooed first in-person summit between Pres. Biden and Xi on November 14 went off pretty well. Biden clearly communicated the US belief that a…
BLOG

Post #355: Israel’s Religious Terrorists

10 Nov 20229 Nov 2022
Note to Readers: Larry Kirsch is co-author of this blog. He is a consulting economist who focuses on economic and social justice, consumer protection, and public finance. Note to Readers…
BLOG

Post #354: Time to Reset Military Relations with Saudi Arabia

4 Nov 2022
An Uneven Balance Sheet             Saudi Arabia and OPEC have decided to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day. The President is miffed, and has signaled that he’s…
BLOG

Post #350: Two on China: Xi Does Well in Central Asia, Taiwan Fares Well in the US Senate

20 Sep 202219 Sep 2022
The Limits of “No Limits”  In the course of his Central Asia tour, Xi Jinping met with Vladimir Putin for what some analysts thought would be a reprise of their…
BLOG

Post #346: Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip: A Needless Provocation

3 Aug 20223 Aug 2022
The audio version of this blog is available at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/66494/55-nancy-pelosis-taiwan-trip-a-needless-provocation.mp3          House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was intent on visiting Taiwan, and did so despite President Biden’s misgivings and criticisms from many China…
BLOG

Post #345: Back to the Future: Biden in the Middle East

23 Jul 202229 Jul 2022
The audio version of this blog is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/65600/54-back-to-the-future-bidens-middle-east-trip.mp3             President Biden has now completed his first visit to the Middle East. The trip was billed as an opportunity to…
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 #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 #338:North Korea: Missiles Over Human Security

24 May 202224 May 2022
Omicron Catches Up with North Korea After having proclaimed for over two years that the country was untouched by the coronavirus, North Korea now faces a potential health catastrophe.  Its…
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 #333: Crimes of War

13 Apr 202211 Apr 2022
The audio version is at https://www.podserve.fm/episodes/56499/42-crimes-of-war.mp3 Mass Violence in Our Times In just the past few years, we have witnessed mass violence directed at innocent people in many places: China’s…

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  • APB: Kissinger at 100
  • Post #375: Out of Touch: The US-China Communications Gap
  • Post #374: China’s Aid to Russia Under the “No Limits” Partnership    
  • Post #373: Nuclear Politics: The US-South Korea “Washington Declaration”
  • Post #372: TikTok and US National Insecurity

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karenkirsch on APB: Kissinger at 100
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Listen to my "Global Citizen" commentaries every Tuesday on KBOO.fm (Portland area) and Wednesdays on KXCR.net (Florence, OR area). Podcasts may be accessed at https://www.podserve.fm/series/website/the-global-citizen,2906/

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