-
U.S.'s Diminishing Influence in the Middle East
Tweet Share on Facebook September 29, 2011 Comment (6)You can't lose what you never had.
-
The Danger of China Myopia in Washington
Tweet Share on Facebook September 22, 2011 Comment (2)On Monday I attended a lecture given by John Mearsheimer, the eminent political scientist and foreign affairs specialist. It was hosted by a group called the Committee for the Republic, which stands in plucky opposition to American empire. It was held at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a Victorian manor just off Washington's Dupont Circle, and it was attended by about a hundred concerned citizens, including businessmen, lawyers, journalists, and activists.
-
In Arab Spring, Foreign Militaries Make Unreliable Partners
Tweet Share on Facebook September 14, 2011 Comment (1)Earlier this month in The Nation, blogger Robert Dreyfuss contributed to the magazine's superb meditation on the Arab Awakening with a look at how the Obama White House responded to the popular revolt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. As opposition to Mubarak reached its crescendo in February, according to Dreyfuss, senior White House aides frantically urged military leaders in Cairo to relieve themselves of him.
-
Why a U.S. War With China May Be Inevitable
Tweet Share on Facebook September 8, 2011 Comment (19)Unwittingly no doubt, the Pentagon is marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by repeating one of the mistakes that provoked The Big One in the first place. In his 1996 fatwa against what he called the "Zionist-Crusader alliance," Osama bin Laden called the occupation of Saudi Arabia by U.S. troops after their eviction of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 the "latest and the greatest" of American "aggressions" against Islam. This week, without a trace of irony, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon is fine-tuning a plan to keep 3,000 to 4,000 American troops in Iraq after the deadline for their withdrawal at the end of the year. Such a residual force, like the one in Saudi Arabia before it, will likely stoke resentment among Arab Islamists that will inevitably express itself with violence against U.S. citizens or perhaps even on American soil. It would also make a lie of President Obama’s pledge to bring all American forces home from that misbegotten war and it only multiplies the number of U.S. troops cooped up in wasteful and intrusive military bases abroad.
, will be published in August by Crown. You can follow him on Twitter 
