Mel Goodman

Never Forget Who Donald Trump Really Is

“You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent! No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.” – Donald Trump, February 10, 2024, responding allegedly to a “leader of a big state” who asked “If we don’t pay” enough to…

Biden is Dragging the United States Deeper Into the Middle East

“The United States does not want to see the conflict escalated and will not escalate the conflict.” – Senior State Department official in the wake of four days of U.S. bombing in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, February 5, 2024. “We do not see it as an escalation.” – Senior State Department official discussing the bombing,…

Deal With Iran Politically and Diplomatically, Not Militarily

There is a consensus on the right and the left that the only way to deal with Iran is with military force.  The conservative Chicken Hawks in the Senate and the House of Representatives believe targeting Iran—and not merely Iranian proxies—is essential.  Senator Lindsay Graham (R/SC) wants to “hit them hard.” The conservative newsmagazine, The…

Why Are Our Regional Experts Expecting More War in Every Corner?

“Kim Jong-un has made a strategic decision to go to war.  The danger is already far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyang’s ‘provocations’.” – Robert Carlin (former State Department analyst) and Siegfried S. Hecker (nuclear scientist and former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory), Stimson Center website 38 North,…

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The United States and the Middle East: the Politics of Miscalculation

Biden also should have known that he can’t have it both ways by criticizing the illegal and immoral Russian invasion of Ukraine while being complicit in the illegal and immoral Israeli war in Gaza. 

The Atlantic Joins the Chorus of Fear

More time should be devoted to the study of diplomatic history in order to examine precedents for improving bilateral relations.  Fear is driving us toward arms races; diplomacy could drive us to arms control and disarmament as well as a more stable international environment.

Containing the National Security State

Containing the National Security State