Posts Tagged ‘Trump’
China: Enemy Du Jour? But Why?
Arms control and disarmament were central to launching a detente with the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s; the environmental challenge could be the key to a serious and institutionalized Sino-American dialogue.
Read MoreRepairing Trump’s Carnage: Fixing Our “Democracy”
President-elect Biden will inherit a crisis worse than those facing Barack Obama in 2009 or Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The international situation is dominated by a raging nationalism, a climate catastrophe, and a devastating pandemic. At home, we have a dysfunctional Congress, a struggling economy, and social tensions worsened by institutional racism. Biden’s cabinet appointments reveal his recognition of these domestic challenges as he has appointed experts prepared to address a damaged public health system, immigration system, and the environmental program.
Read MoreTrump’s Carnage: Testing America’s “Democracy”
Trump’s inauguration speech in January 2017 was bizarre, particularly the reference to “American Carnage,” which was designed to be descriptive, but turned out to be predictive. Trump has been America’s most shameless president, politicizing the military and intelligence communities; corrupting the legal and judicial communities; and weaponizing various departments and agencies to do his bidding.
Read MoreRevisiting “Seven Days in May”
One of the occupational hazards of a 24-year career as an intelligence analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency is the tendency to anticipate the dark side. Whenever I see a floral arrangement, for example, I expect there to be a corpse nearby. Now if I were still an intelligence analyst at the CIA and watching events in a Third World democracy that resemble the goings on taking place in the United States of America, I would be deeply concerned.
Read MoreRecent News and Latest Book
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.
