Biden’s Pentagon Pick: a Five-Sided Blunder

President-elect Joe Biden has made so many excellent appointments to his Cabinet, particularly in the areas of the economy and health, that it is stunning to see such a worrisome appointment to the Pentagon. The nomination of retired Army General Lloyd J. Austin III will lead to an unnecessary battle over his required waiver as well as his confirmation. The opposition should not be dismissed as the usual progressive voices against a leading member of the military-industrial community, which Austin represents, but the need to maintain civilian control of the military as the Founding Fathers wished.

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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