Harlan Ullman

Geese fly in V-formations. At the apex is a leader. Without a leader, geese would become a disorderly gaggle. This analogy applies to the international order. After World War I, no international leader emerged. America became isolationist. Britain and France were bled white by the war. Germany lay in ruins with her future prospects crippled […]

Eighty year ago on September 1st, 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland starting World War II. Code named Operation Fall Weiss, under the pretext of a staged Polish attack against German troops, five German armies with about 1.5 million soldiers, 2000 tanks and 1900 aircraft stormed into Poland without warning or declaration. By mid-September, the Blitzkrieg […]

Dear Don; You asked my advice about properties that might be for sale. Your idea of buying Greenland was stunning. But, unfortunately, the regarding that sale, the Shakespearean view that “something is nasty in Denmark” clearly remains true. And the deal is dead-for the moment. Perhaps that was good luck. That said, you should look […]

In politics, contradictions abound. Today’s opponent is tomorrow’s ally. Yesterday’s denial is today’s policy. Yet, the linkage, tensions and symbiotic relationships between politics and policy are the heart of governing. That is one of many reasons why the United States is in such deep trouble and its broken government has floundered in providing viable solutions […]

Here is a simple question that could determine who becomes president in 2020. In 1980, Ronald Reagan asked Americans if they were better off than four years before. The answer helped him trounce Jimmy Carter. Today, are America and her allies safer or more secure than two years ago? The answer must be a resounding […]

Last week, CNN produced two made for television carnival shows mistakenly called Democratic Presidential Debates. While not always presidential in conduct, almost certainly one of the twenty carnival contestants will be the next Democratic nominee. And perhaps one will be picked for the second slot. Nor if Mr. Webster’s dictionary counts, could this carnival be […]

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and American President Donald Trump are facing 21st century political variants of Waterloo, the monumental battle that Wellington won and Napoleon lost. For Boris, it is Brexit. For Trump it is impeachment. Both are virtually inevitable. Johnson’s first week in office has certainly set his government on a course for […]

London, England: On Thursday, Boris Johnson travelled to Buckingham Palace to ask the queen’s permission to form a new government. It was granted. And for Mr. Johnson, the challenges may not be as daunting as Churchill faced in 1940. But they will be every bit as difficult as those confronting Margaret Thatcher forty years ago. […]

Windsor Castle, England: While the French were celebrating Bastille Day, Sunday, July 14th was a remarkable day for Great Britain. Both the Wimbledon tennis championship and the World Cricket finals were being played in London. In America, this would amount to the World Series and Super Bowl being held on the same day in New […]

For one of the few times in his presidency, Donald Trump drew bipartisan support for his last minute decision not to retaliate against Iran for shooting down a $220 million Navy Triton drone last week. The president said that the likelihood of some 150 Iranians being killed in a counter-attack was not a “proportionate” response […]