Europe

Donald Trump runs U.S. Middle East policy much the way Don Coreleone ran his Mafia empire: through pursuit of common interests where possible and, if that failed, through bullying and extortion.  News reports indicate few, if any of the Middle East states negotiating to normalize relations with Israel are doing …

“We’re run by the Pentagon, we’re run by Madison Avenue, we’re run by television, and as long as we accept those things and don’t revolt we’ll have to go along with the stream to the eventual avalanche…. As long as we go out and buy stuff, we’re at their mercy… We …

On August 21st, six nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress bombers, representing approximately one-seventh of the war-ready U.S. B-52H bomber fleet, flew from their home base in North Dakota to Fairford Air Base in England for several weeks of intensive operations over Europe. Although the actual weapons load of those giant bombers was kept secret, each of …

Recently, some of the “talking heads” on the news have been worrying about the demise of US global hegemony.  We are told that the “American empire” is in decline and our influence and status around the world are falling.  We are told that this bodes poorly for both the people …

At a time when racial justice, the economy and COVID-19 dominates the U.S. election, foreign policy issues seem to have faded into obscurity. But the presidential candidates’ positions – some vastly different, others similar – are nevertheless revealing about how the election plays out and what the next administration will do

The convergence of the coronavirus, combined with global conflict and climate change has put the goal of ending global poverty by 2030 virtually out of sight.

Once upon a time it was possible to rely on much of the mainstream media to report on developments more or less objectively, relegating opinion pieces to the editorial page. But that was a long time ago. I remember moving to Washington back in 1976 after many years of New York …

Review of The United States of War: A Global History of America’s Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State by David Vine (University of California Press, 2020). We don’t hear about them very often, but the estimated 800 US military bases around the globe have played an essential role …

By strengthening the presence of warships from non-Black Sea NATO members in the Black Sea, the military bloc is attempting to demonstrate its dominance in the region and the Alliance’s desire to neutralize and pressurize Russia’s influence in the area. Moscow’s Black Sea influence significantly increased after Crimea’s 2014 reunification …

New START is the last remaining Russia/US arms control agreement. Expiring on February 5, 2021 if not renewed, the Trump regime rejected Vladimir Putin’s offer to extend the agreement for another five years with no pre-conditions. On September 28, Politico reported that Trump officials “asked the military to assess how quickly …