Posts Tagged ‘Saudi Arabia’
President Biden and Iran: the Cost of a Missed Opportunity
If the United States wanted to contribute to regional stability in the Middle East and to reduce its own military presence, then it would encourage bilateral negotiations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The fact that the current cease-fire in Yemen appears to be holding provides the best opportunity in recent years to encourage a Riyadh-Tehran dialogue. The United States must stop exaggerating the Iranian threat in the region, which finds Tehran in support of failed states such as Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. These failed states are virtually meaningless to U.S. national security concerns.
Read MoreThe “New” Middle East Resembles The Old Middle East
The Biden administration is selling the notion that the “new Middle East” requires U.S. involvement at the highest level, and the mainstream media, particularly the Washington Post and the New York Times, are predictably seconding the motion. President Joe Biden penned an op-ed for the Post over the weekend to defend his trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia. The trip is a reminder that Biden’s policies in the region resemble those of Donald Trump.
Read MoreArming the Planet: the USA as the World’s Leading Weapons Dealer
There has never been a more important time to debate President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s warning about the insidious economic, political, and even spiritual effects of what he called the “military-industrial-congressional complex.” For the past twenty years, the United States has been in a permanent state of war with a government, an economy, and a global system of military bases that virtually ensures conflict. The fact that this important issue is not part of the presidential debate of 2020 is particularly regrettable. It’s long past time for congressional leadership to take on this “complex.”
Read MoreTrump, Bolton, and Pompeo: Loathsome Peas in a Pod
Trump certainly remains first and foremost in this loathsome trio for the damage and havoc he has done to governance, particularly his campaign against the Department of Justice and the justice system itself in undermining the rule of law. But we should never forget the truckling of Mike Pompeo and John Bolton.
Read MoreRecent News and Latest Book
Iran and the US Say Enough, Will Israel Go Along?
The emphasis now should be on a cease fire in Gaza; release of the hostages; a surge of humanitarian assistance to Gaza; and talks with Iran that could lead to diplomatic recognition.
Spies and Their Lies: the Trials and Tribulations at Guantanamo
U.S. prosecutors have asked the Court of Military Commissions to reinstate the confessions, and the rest of this year will be taken up with this issue at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The new judge, Colonel Matthew Fitzgerald, is the fourth to preside in this case, and he was still in law school when the U.S.S. Cole was attacked and 9/11 took place.
