War in the Gulf: the Trump movie ( satire) on June 18, 2019News Flash: Ivanka Trump reportedly has just bought the rights to the James Bond movies and a new production company called Twenty-First Century Trump. Speculation abounds that Ms. Trump has hired a dream creative team rumored to include former Trump staffers Steve Bannon; Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort on special leave from prison; Michael Flynn; […]
The wrong ‘ism’s’ are the enemy on June 12, 2019For at least a century and a half, “ism’s” have been the enemy of Western democracies. That continues today but, sadly, in a far different and dangerous way. Republicans and Democrats are weaponizing two “isms,” “socialism” and “capitalism,” and sending them into political battle. The nation as a whole will be the loser. At the […]
D-Day seventy five years ago on June 4, 2019Today, hundreds of dignitaries are gathering around Normandy, the site of the allied landing in France that took place seventy-five years ago known as Operation Overlord. At first light on June 6th, 1944, approximately 140-160,000 allied troops stormed ashore at five landing sites: Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword. The invasion fleet of largely civilian […]
When do intractable issue become existential? on May 29, 2019Many “democracies” face similar conundrums that could pose an existential danger to their future political coherence. This is not a new phenomenon. Nazi Germany could never reconcile its ambitions for “lebensraum” with reality and ultimately was crushed. The Soviet Union imploded because of an irrational political system. Today, Brexit is an existential threat to the […]
WHAT CAN WE RE-LEARN FROM THAT VICTORY? on May 25, 2019Seventy-four years ago this week, guns fell silent as the war in Europe finally came to an end. May 8th marks VE-Day, for Victory in Europe, when Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies in 1945. Next month marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Normandy landings that marked the beginning of the end of Hitler. A […]
Only fools would envisage a three front war! on May 14, 2019The United States may be on the verge of launching a three front war. History has been unkind to leaders who embarked on two front wars. Napoleon and Hitler learned this lesson the hard way, defeated by Russia’s secret weapons: geography and frozen winters. Today, Donald Trump could repeat that strategic miscalculation with Iran, Venezuela […]
An icy Moscow visit on May 1, 2019For the handful of Americans attending this year’s Moscow International Security Conference (MISC), unsurprisingly, the Kremlin’s attitude towards Washington and, of course, NATO was icy, confrontational and accusatory. Russian participants made abundantly clear to the 700 or so participants from some fifty-five states the major dangers to international security: the U.S. and NATO. The U.S […]
Spring time in Moscow on April 22, 2019Moscow: Given the chilly if not frozen relations between America and Russia these days, the annual Moscow International Security Conference (MISC) is a good place to take stock of where, how or if a thaw is even remotely possible. With the decisions to withdraw from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF); New START in jeopardy; […]
The hides of April on April 17, 2019In Roman times, the mid-point of the month was called “the ides,” hence the ides of April. Famously according to Shakespeare, Julius Caesar was warned to beware the ides of March. He did not and was assassinated. Today, we need to beware the ides of April and for more profound reasons than this is tax […]
Three daggers on April 10, 2019Three political daggers are aimed at America’s democracy and security. Whether these are stilettos- thin, stealthy and precise- or nearly foot long Bowie knives to hack, cut and maim makes little difference. The ultimate effect could be deadly. The first dagger threatens truthfulness; the second the constitution; and the third the nation’s most important alliance. […]