Nearly 60 years ago, with the Soviet Union emerging as America’s new post-World War II adversary, a nervous Washington sought the insights of a Soviet expert serving as the second-ranking U.S. official in Moscow. It was February of 1946, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had just delivered a blistering speech at the Bolshoi Theater, suggesting …
Continue reading “We Can’t Forget That Putin Is a Product of the KGB”
“I want Russia to be successful,” President Barack Obama told reporters on Friday after chastising Vladimir Putin for his stepped-up militarism in Syria. “This is not a contest between the United States and Russia. It is in our interest for Russia to be a responsible, effective actor on the international stage that can share burdens …
The world spins out of control at a dizzying pace, with chaos spreading across the Middle East and U.S.-led global order deteriorating elsewhere, all of which leaves Washington looking confused and tentative. In the Middle East, the Islamic State group expands its footprint in Iraq and Syria, Iran extends its reach into Yemen, Hezbollah flexes …
With the United States understandably focused on Islamist threats to the civilized world, Russia’s Vladimir Putin continues to whittle away at the post-Cold War architecture of global relations by ignoring his commitment to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and boosting support for Russian-backed rebels. Putin’s efforts to undermine Ukraine, coming on top of his annexation of Crimea …
Continue reading “Obama’s hesitation in Ukraine endangers Eastern Europe”
Nothing better showcases Washington’s confusion over foreign policy than the idea that – as part of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal – Iran would ship much or all of its enriched uranium to Russia, and Russia would then process it for Iranian civilian usage. Were the U.S.-led “P5+1” negotiators (the five permanent U.N. Security Council members …
WASHINGTON — The president sets U.S. foreign policy but, with regard to Ukraine, Congress has an opportunity to push the United States in a more fruitful direction by approving bipartisan legislation from the Senate that would give Kiev $350 million in military aid to help it fend off Moscow’s advances. Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who dreams …
Continue reading “Putin’s aggression won’t be stopped by sanctions”
WASHINGTON — “My job as commander in chief,” an exasperated President Obama told critics this week, “is to deploy military force as a last resort, and to deploy it wisely. And, frankly, most of the foreign policy commentators that have questioned our policies would go headlong into a bunch of military adventures that the American …
Continue reading “No, Mr. President, your critics aren’t just neoconservatives”