Letters to the Editor

05 Aug

Arming Teachers: A Misguided ‘Solution’

Arming Teachers: A Misguided ‘Solution’ is my latest opinion letter posting today and being printed in Sunday’s New York Times.

18 Aug

UKRAINE: THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN STALEMATE

Alexander Vindman, the former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, provided testimony to the Congress in 2019 that framed the charge of abuse of power in the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump. In doing so, Vindman displayed a political courage that is far different from courage on the battlefield. He is an American hero on various levels. Nevertheless, his policy positions on Ukraine, if adopted, would pose a danger to U.S. national security policy, risking an unnecessary confrontation with Russia and a divided transatlantic alliance.

14 Jul

Bombast in the Black Sea: the Latest British Provocation

Post-World War II British foreign policy has included a number of provocative steps that have weakened British standing; created complications in the international arena; and raised the possibility of serious confrontation.

26 Mar

Biden administration’s approach to Russia and China unproductive | COMMENTARY

President Biden’s national security strategy was on display this month, and the picture was mostly unimpressive.

Recent News and Latest Book

31 Jan

The Real John Bolton

It isn’t enough for the corporate media to praise John Bolton for his timely manuscript that confirms Donald Trump’s explicit linkage between military aid to Ukraine and investigations into his political foe Joe Biden. As a result, the media have made John Bolton a “man of principle,” according to the Washington Post, and a fearless infighter for the “sovereignty of the United States.” Writing in the Post, Kathleen Parker notes that Bolton isn’t motivated by the money he will earn from his book (in the neighborhood of $2 million), but that he is far more interested in “saving his legacy.” Perhaps this is a good time to examine that legacy.

24 Jan

The Media and the Military Mindset

U.S. national media have been lazy in their treatment of our military—pandering to the military itself and using retired general officers with ties to the military-industrial complex as spokesmen. The United States is largely in an arms race with itself, but the media typically ignore bloated defense spending. It is past time to reinforce Martin Luther King’s address to the Riverside Church in 1967 that linked chronic domestic poverty and military adventurism.