Alan Bock

I wrote a few weeks ago that President-elect Obama might face something resembling a foreign policy crisis early on involving India and Pakistan, which would implicate Afghanistan and the entire U.S. approach to the "war on terror." Recent, potentially ominous troop movements suggest that border-area problems and disputes, while they might be resolved by the … Continue reading “Meek Oil”

In what might be called their legacy interviews (their exit interviews), President Bush has tried to soften his image and project a sense of competence, while Vice President Cheney has, if anything, gone out of his way to confirm that he was the administration’s Darth Vader, devoted to protecting and extending the Empire and proud … Continue reading “A Legacy of Evil”

Of course it would hardly do to consider a report [.pdf] from a congressional committee the last possible word on a past event or series of events. What makes a report this week from the Senate Armed Services Committee last Thursday of special interest is that it was bipartisan in nature, with no minority report, … Continue reading “From the Top,
as We Suspected”

In international politics, events can precipitate crises few had expected, although the elements of crisis may have been lying apparently dormant. Just a few weeks ago, Newsweek‘s John Barry could write a piece suggesting that whatever domestic economic problems he faced on Inauguration Day, his "foreign policy and national-security inbox shows that, even on pressing … Continue reading “Mumbai and Obama”

A fair amount of ink has been devoted to the likelihood that, even if it withdraws substantially from Iraq, an Obama administration will send a considerable number of troops (though probably not enough to make much of a difference anytime soon) to Afghanistan. Even though it is widely acknowledged that the “surge” tactics the U.S. … Continue reading “Out of Africa”

Of course, the default position for any citizen with a modicum of experience and common sense should be to prepare to be disappointed by a politician, especially one in whom one was rash enough to invest much hope. We are already seeing a certain amount of backing and filling from the Obama camp on withdrawal … Continue reading “Gitmo Disappointment Coming”

New American presidents traditionally get what journalists and pundits call a honeymoon. There’s a period sometimes lasting up to 18 months when whatever goodwill remains from the pomp and circumstance of installing a president evokes deep patriotic feelings, creating an atmosphere in which even some members of the "opposition" party are inclined to cooperate with … Continue reading “A Short Honeymoon”

U.S. voters will elect a new president on Tuesday who will at least not be George W. Bush. Whether he will be wise enough to adjust to emerging realities in the world at large is another question. Despite its importance – do you think the financial crisis would have emerged so soon (though it was … Continue reading “Will the Next President Be Any Better?”

As the election the candidates and media have been presaging for about two years now finally arrives, it might be difficult to find much reason to be thankful except that it is finally over and it may be a week or two before the pundits start speculating on 2012 (oh, wait, that’s already begun). Although … Continue reading “An Upside to the Financial Crisis?”

Militarily, the most helpful – or least harmful – thing the West can do is to withdraw all troops from the entire Middle East, and from South Asia to boot. That’s the bottom line I got from a conversation with celebrated British foreign correspondent Robert Fisk a couple of weeks ago. Pulling out the military … Continue reading “Coffee With Robert Fisk”