Haiti and Ecuador: Two Plays, One Plot

Though their long histories of wishing America would leave them alone and of trying to assert their own democratic voice are uniquely their own, the recent story of American interference in Haiti and Ecuador seem to be following the same plot. Act I: The Coup In...

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Electing Biden: One Year Later

Sunday marked one year since Americans elected Joe Biden president. And on his first year report card, Americans give him a failing grade. Only 42% of Americans approve of Biden’s performance. Biden may have received a failing grade, in part, because on several key...

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Saudi Arabia: Shifting Alliances?

In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has made a number of subtle moves that are intriguing from both a regional and a broader Second Cold War perspective. Long a reliable friend of the US and, in recent years, an increasingly reliable friend of Israel, Saudi Arabia has...

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Sanctioning Yourself in the Foot

"Sanctions," Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, told the UN General Assembly, "are the US’s new way of war with the nations of the world." At least nineteen countries are currently besieged by the economic warfare of US sanctions. As when they...

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The Middle East and the Second Cold War

The Middle East was a crucial arena in the Cold War. It was then that Israel first acquired its value to the US as a bulwark against perceived Soviet penetration into the Middle East. The Soviet Union perceived US activity in the Middle East as encircling them on...

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