Letters to the Editor
The Mayaguez recapture was not ‘successful’
Brent Scowcroft was certainly the model of a fair-minded and judicious national security adviser, but it was wrong to say that the military recapture of the American merchant ship Mayaguez in 1975 was “successful.” Forty-one service members lost their lives in storming Koh Tang Island, where the Pentagon wrongly believed 39 crew members were being held.
Trump’s war on whistleblowers
Donald Trump, campaigning in Iowa in 2015, said that “I’ve had a lot of wars of my own. I’m really good at war.” For the past three years, we have witnessed Mr. Trump’s wars on governance, science, national security policy and public service. For the past several days, we have witnessed a new war — a war on whistleblowers that will make it particularly difficult for others to come forward in the future.
NY Times Letter to the Editor
The Democratic debates have virtually ignored numerous national security issues, particularly the bloated defense budget; the overzealous tempo of military deployments; the overabundant overseas bases; the unnecessary modernization of our nuclear weapons; and the troublesome decline of arms control and disarmament. The United States has become the dominant arms merchant in the international arena and has downplayed the important instrument of diplomacy.
Loyalist intelligence directors are a liability – Washington Post: Letter to the Editor
The July 29 front-page article “Coats to resign as spy chief” stated that intelligence directors have “not been such vocal political supporters of a president.” Well, President Ronald Reagan’s intelligence director was William J. Casey, who was a campaign manager for Reagan in 1980 and a zealous supporter of the president. As CIA director, Casey was responsible for the cherry-picking of intelligence on the Soviet Union that exaggerated the power and influence of Moscow and missed the decline and ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The Casey example is an important reminder of the danger of appointing a loyalist such as Rep.?John Ratcliffe (R-Tex.) to be director of national intelligence.
Recent News and Latest Book
China’s Foreign Policy: Lessons for the United States
The United States currently lacks diplomatic relations with two of its most important adversaries: Iran and North Korea. Washington has serious bilateral issues with both Tehran and Pyongyang, although there is ample evidence that both Iran and North Korea are willing to pursue a dialogue with the United States. The nuclear issue alone should convince Washington of the need for consultation, dialogue, and diplomatic recognition of adversaries.
The United States and Human Rights: a History of Hypocrisy
The United States is a human rights hypocrite. No country has been more aggressive in lecturing others about human rights and no country has been less willing to take part in international efforts to halt crimes against the peace or even genocide. The United States has been one of the major obstacles in the creation of an international military force under the auspices of the United Nations to prevent “crimes against the peace.”
