Soundbites and slogans do not make good strategyon January 15, 2020Bucharest, Romania: The confrontation between the United States and Iran and the controversy over the assassination of QassimSoleimani are incontrovertible evidence that sound bites and slogans do not make good strategy. Regarding the former standoff with Iran, why does the U.S. continue to use the 1979 “student” takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran in […]
Nice work don!on January 9, 2020No one in this country will mourn the death of Qassim Soleimani, the late commander of Iran’s Quds force, eviscerated by Hellfire missiles last week at Baghdad airport. Likewise, few mourned the overthrow and hanging of Saddam Hussein in 2003, a villain who murdered, tortured and abused millions of his countrymen and women. But the […]
Who can you trust in 2020?on January 1, 2020New Year’s calls for resolutions and presumably some optimism about the future. However, more somber questions loom over American society. Who can you trust today? And how serious is this trust deficit? Trust requires respect for the truth. But the Commander-in-chief is the falsifier in chief. The Washington Post fact checker so far has identified […]
Dickens In Mar A Lagoon December 29, 2019Last night, Christmas Eve, the spirit of Charles Dickens descended on Mar a Lago. President Donald Trump was haunted by Dickens’ ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future. It was not a good night for the ghosts nor for Mr. Trump in which Christmas Carols were notably absent. The Ghost of Christmas Past was Abraham […]
Assaults on the Constitution in 2001 and nowon December 18, 2019Trump opponents will mistakenly embrace this column as fiercely as Trump supporters will reject it. But, ironically and for entirely different reasons, Osama bin Laden and Donald Trump, in concert with Democrats, raise (un)clear and present dangers to the Constitution. Bin Laden, in killing nearly 3000 Americans, brought extreme terror to these shores for the […]
The Afghan messon December 10, 2019The Washington Post just published a story about a secret and highly critical government report on the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan. The report shows that both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations were both lied to and lied about the intervention that began eighteen years ago. As the French might say, this […]
NATO: relevant or a relic?on December 5, 2019This week, NATO heads of state and government gather at the Grove Hotel, the former estate of the dukes of Clarendon outside London, for a summit marking the alliance’s seventieth anniversary. During those decades, the alliance faced many critical cross roads. However, today’s cross roads may be among the most daunting. The central question is […]
Trump’s impeachment: a 21st century firing on Ft. Sumter?on November 26, 2019Donald Trump cannot stay as president. But the House impeachment inquiry is unlikely to provide sufficiently credible evidence for conviction. And if Trump survives this process, a good bet, do not discount his chances for re-election. How can this be? The Trump base will remain loyal to the president regardless of his conduct and whatever […]
End ‘endless’ wars: don’t plan for themon November 14, 2019Donald Trump, along with most Americans, wants to end “endless” wars. But how many Americans know that the Trump defence strategy, a continuation of President Obama’s, may inadvertently be doing the opposite? A key objective of the current National Defence Strategy (NDS) is “to deter and if war comes defeat” a list of potential adversaries […]
The next economic crash: and the band played onon November 6, 2019An economic crash is inevitable. But the most crucial questions are: when; why; and what can be done to prevent or to mitigate a crash? Three earlier economic crashes illuminate a warning. In October 1929, two huge sell offs on Wall Street set off the Great Depression. The causes-in part due to tariffs and the […]