Harlan Ullman

Atop Wisconsin Avenue in Washington DC, on one of the city’s highest points sits the Russian Federation embassy. Guarded by thick, high, white brick walls and double steel gates at the main entrance, the embassy resembles a fortress. And while this fortress may not be under siege, it certainly has been isolated and rendered off limits by the American government. The new ambassador, Dr Anatoly … [Read more...] about Fort Apache on Wisconsin Avenue

May 8 was ‘Victory in Europe’ or VE Day, marking the surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied Forces in 1945, and the end of World War II in Europe. Ironically, US President Donald Trump’s abrogation and withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, despite opposition from members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) and Germany, has given VE a whole … [Read more...] about The new meaning of VE Day

On the evening of September 10, 2001, most Americans slept well. No one thought that the next day would change the fate and future of the United States and much of the world as well.  The destruction of New York City's Twin Trade Towers at the hands of Al-Qaeda prompted the global War on Terror and military interventions into Afghanistan and Iraq that continue nearly seventeen years later. Over … [Read more...] about Semptember 10 in slo’ mo’

The United States has a national security strategy and a national defence strategy. Both were written by professionals. Both are largely viewed as credible. But what is America’s foreign policy? Is it ‘America first’ and what does that mean? Is it a policy of bilateral rather than multilateral diplomacy in which agreements such as the Paris Climate Change Accord and the Trans Pacific … [Read more...] about America needs a foreign policy

A great fear in the West is the decline of liberal democracies paralleled with the rise of authoritarianism and fascism. The causes of this decline are often portrayed as populism stirred by anti-immigrant sentiment and a fear that globalisation will lead to the West’s local populace losing jobs to immigrants. These are in fact — the symptoms — not the causes of this political phenomenon. History … [Read more...] about Why democracy is in decline

Atlanta, Georgia: Late Friday night, US, British and French forces struck three Syrian chemical weapons facilities in what was called by Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis proportional but heavy and carefully constructed attacks designed to avoid collateral damage. Somewhere around 100 US and allied cruise missiles were fired. No, Russian forces in Syria were targeted or struck. At a Friday night … [Read more...] about Thirty seconds over Damascus

Every day, the White House turns astonishment into understatement. And the next move by President Donald Trump often defies any possible rational explanation. Last week proved this point, although no one should be surprised by what next week may bring. President Trump declared a trade war on America’s trading partners; bureaucratic war on his most senior aides; political war on Special Counsel … [Read more...] about The Trump House