Alan Bock

The images were horrific, but what they reveal about the emptiness and ultimately the cruelty of American policy is even worse. Authorities inspecting a container ship in Seattle found human cargo dozens of sick, ill-nourished Chinese, many verging on starvation. And three of them corpses. Authorities have captured illegal immigrants brought in by smugglers before. … Continue reading “COSTS OF IMMIGRATION CONTROL”

With the announcement this week by President Clinton that he will propose a two-year $1.3 billion emergency anti-narcotics aid package to Colombia, the drug war and the counter-insurgency war waged as part of a 40-year civil war in Colombia have been ratcheted to a new level of violence and risk. If the most likely outcome … Continue reading “COLOMBIAN DRUG WAR HEATING UP”

The talks between Israel and Syria in the isolated rural college town of Shepherdstown, WV, watched over by U.S. mother-hen facilitators, might one day be seen as the first step toward a lasting peace between the two countries. It is more likely, however, that they represent yet another premature effort by President Clinton to create … Continue reading “SHEPHERDSTOWN”

I checked in a few standard quote books and in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and was shocked. There is very little in what is widely viewed as our common cultural heritage that describes and celebrates the benefits of peace. That should be one of our tasks in the New Millennium. (Yes, I know, … Continue reading “GIVING PEACE A CHANCE”

I don’t want to read too much into it, but I think it is just possible that some of the guardians of the Warfare State at the neo-conservative Weekly Standard (but the two articles I’m discussing are not available online; there is, however, a rather good David Gelernter piece on Rembrandt) are a bit worried … Continue reading “FEAR AND TREMBLING IN THE IMPERIAL CAMP?”

On Monday night "Nightline” featured a program whose taped intro was fraught with worry about yet another possible overseas enemy. Noting that the Russian government seems intent on wiping out virtually the entire nation-province-territory-whatever of Chechnya whatever anybody in the West might say and that this policy seems to be extremely popular among Russians of … Continue reading “WORRYING ABOUT THE RUSSIAN ARMY”

My old friend – or at least acquaintance of (shudder!) more than 30 years – Rep. Dana Rohrabacher came to the Orange County Register last week and I got a little more insight into just how difficult our job of keeping the United States out of foreign entanglements is likely to be. Dana assured me … Continue reading “THE NEED FOR ENEMIES,”

In war, goes the old saw, the first casualty is truth. That was certainly the case in the Kosovo war/bombardment/whatever, but it is important to remind ourselves and others of the fact. Lies will certainly be told during the next conflict – and who among us can doubt that there will be a next conflict. … Continue reading “The First Casualty”

I wrote last week about the disappointment Steve Forbes has been in his foreign policy statements – essentially embracing Cold War nostalgia and Great Power clichés about the continuing need for the United States to be wary of enemies and especially to pursue a needlessly provocative policy toward China. Last week George Dubya weighed in … Continue reading “DUBYA’S EXPANSIVE VISION”

Not so many years ago I really wanted to like Steve Forbes – and to tell the truth, I still can’t help liking him personally; I find his clumsy, crooked grin endearing and I think he’s one of the more substantive candidates American politics has coughed up in recent years. Before he started running for … Continue reading “THE FORBES DISAPPOINTMENT”