Harlan Ullman

Make no mistake: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is winning the fight in Ukraine-so far. Threatening to invade is far wiser than invading. Putin knows that. Barring a catastrophic mishap, Putin has no intention of invading or attacking Ukraine. The costs would be too great in Russian casualties and crippling sanctions that would trigger a huge […]

Last March, the Biden administration released its Interim National Security Strategic Guidance. Aside from a veritable handful of national security scholars and no doubt many more Chinese and Russians, beyond the administration, this document probably sank without a trace before it was even launched. In fairness, the Congressionally-mandated National Security and National Defense Strategy reviews […]

Centuries ago, the first American settlers gave thanks for their survival now called Thanksgiving. Today, too many politicians are offering thanks for not having to confront or answer otherwise frighteningly direct questions about America and its role in the world. When pluralistic societies fear addressing tough questions that challenge the basic foundations for those societies, […]

The two greatest of all America’s great documents are the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  Both were written by the best minds of the eighteenth century.  But are both still relevant and fit for the twenty-first century?Consider four lurking and potentially fatal flaws.  The first arises from the most trenchant line in the Declaration […]

Given the Biden administration’s blunders and stumbles, last week’s column wondered if President Joe Biden’s approval ratings actually should be much lower. But last Tuesday’s election in which Democrats got mugged may mark a turning point and redound to the president’s fortune-an unintended stroke of luck. Why? The Democratic party was split by the uncivil […]

Too often, American public opinion operates as if it were a school of fish. Even the slightest disturbance in the water can impel the school to change course instantly and en masse as if it were a practised drill team. Elevating China and Russia from competitors to adversaries is a case in point by exaggerating […]

Last Spring at the change of command for the Indo-Pacific region in Pearl Harbor, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced his concept of “integrated deterrence (ID)” as “the cornerstone of defence to make sure US adversaries know that the risk of aggression is out of line with any conceivable benefit.” Austin went on to explain […]

Interestingly, the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations have pursued remarkably similar foreign policies based on a Great Power Competition with Russia and principally China as what is now, according to the Pentagon, “the pacing threat.” Obama decided in 2011 to “pivot” to Asia, subsequently softened to “rebalancing.” And it toughened its military strategy to read […]

Constanta, Romania: This past weekend was spent aboard the Romanian Navy’s Danube going cruise ship, engaging in a European-American Security Dialogue. The focus was the Black Sea and its vital geostrategic importance to Russia, NATO and Europe. However, the Black Sea poses a fundamental contradiction for NATO. Only relatively recently has NATO been devoting greater […]

En route Paris: Members of Congress are already describing this past week as one from hell! The debt ceiling crisis that can shut the government down; two very contentious infrastructure bills; and hearings on the Afghanistan withdrawal debacle and charges that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark Milley exceeded his authority […]