A jarring July? on July 4, 2018‘Beware the Ides of March,’ was the warning ignored by Julius Caesar in 44 BC. Today, there is no Caesar in America (yet?). But for those who fear Western democracies are in trouble, July will be a jarring reminder of why those fears may be justified. Certainly for the West, the future is at considerable […]
With friends like these… on June 13, 2018Can the United States (US) be considered a rational state under the Trump presidency? The world must wonder how the leader of the ‘free world’ favour dictators over democratic allies, and abrogate over seven decades of the international order created by the US itself? His supporters argue that Trump is a disruptive and unconventional Chief […]
The politics of fear on June 10, 2018Politics today is often described as being driven by “populism,” “tribalism,” “nativism” and “bitter divisiveness.” But what is really driving politics, both in the United States and abroad, is fear. Fear of the future and fear of the unknown are possibly more dominant now than at any time since the end of the Cold War. […]
The Trump administration’s dual crises on June 1, 2018Perhaps from years of real estate dealings, President Donald Trump believes that his ‘art of the deal’ can be applied to foreign policy. Flattery, unfulfillable promises, threats and, as necessary, ultimatums will lead to successful negotiations. Tragically, as other presidents believed that democracy could be applied to Vietnam and more recently, to Afghanistan and Iraq, […]
Fort Apache on Wisconsin Avenue on May 23, 2018Atop 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 […]
The new meaning of VE Day on May 16, 2018May 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 […]
Semptember 10 in slo’ mo’ on May 12, 2018On 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 […]
America needs a foreign policy on April 30, 2018The 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 […]
Why democracy is in decline on April 23, 2018A 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 — […]
Thirty seconds over Damascus on April 17, 2018Atlanta, 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 […]