Doug Bandow

Woodrow Wilson usually ranks high in the pantheon of American presidents. Yet he was a virulent racist and sharply attacked civil liberties, jailing famed socialist leader Eugene Debs for opposing World War I. However, Wilson won over future historians with his precise elocution, articulating high-minded international principles even as he pursued policies that caused another, … Continue reading “Dedicating a National Memorial to World War I”

Ukraine responded to Russia’s troop buildup on its border by demanding membership in NATO. However, neither the U.S. nor the Europeans, especially, are inclined to open the alliance door. Ukraine might pocket the resulting defense guarantee and launch an offensive against the Donbass, now controlled by ethnic Russian separatists. If that led to war with … Continue reading “US Should Reject Ukrainian Nuclear Blackmail”

The Castro brothers ruled Cuba for more than six decades. The results have not been pretty. An island impoverished in body and mind. Even artists have been protesting of late, punished by the security forces for having the temerity to question the communist authorities. However, change is in the offing. Fidel died in 2016. A … Continue reading “As Castro Rule Fades in Cuba, Americans Should Engage the Cuban People”

Tokyo’s boosters call Japan America’s most important ally. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe forged a close relationship with President Donald Trump, playing to the latter’s vanities. In response, Trump seemed to go easier on Tokyo, a longtime Pentagon cheap rider, than South Korea or Europe. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is due in Washington on Friday, … Continue reading “President Joe Biden Set for Summit with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga”

More than six years ago Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen. The goal was to reinstall a friendly president to do Riyadh’s bidding. The royal regime assumed the campaign would be over in six weeks. Yet again the gods punished hubris and made the vainglorious pay a terrible price. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was merely the … Continue reading “Push Saudi Arabia To End the Assault on Yemen”

Today, April 7, is the official anniversary of the start of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Probably a half million or so people – estimates range wildly – were murdered in just 100 days. Most of the victims were Tutsis, though a number of moderate Hutus also were killed. Hundreds of thousands of women were … Continue reading “The Problem of Humanitarian Intervention: A Tough Challenge With No Good Answer”

The Napoleonic Wars consumed the lives of between 2.5 million and 3.5 million soldiers, most unwilling draftees. Although defeated, discredited, and exiled after years of brutal conflict, the self-anointed emperor responsible for those deaths today is honored – lionized, actually – in Paris. His tomb is located in the Hotel Les Invalides surrounded by commemorations … Continue reading “Is the Volunteer Military Too Expensive? Or Is Global Intervention Too Expensive?”

The United States tore itself apart with extraordinary violence 160 years ago. Around 750,000 Americans died in the Civil War, which would be about eight million dead today. It is an experience no American should want to go through again. Yet U.S. policymakers seem drawn to foreign conflicts like moths to light. Ronald Reagan, George … Continue reading “Biden and His Aides Pushed America Into Syria’s Civil War a Decade Ago”

Joe Biden has been president for two months. Only 46 months to go, unless he is reelected. In fact, he teased the media at his press conference, suggesting that he likely would run for reelection, though he insisted that prospect was too far in the future for him to consider today. The biggest change from … Continue reading “After Two Months, President Joe Biden has Become Donald Trump Lite on Foreign Policy”

For all their talk of peace through strength, American hawks favor windbag diplomacy. In their view there is no international problem that cannot be solved with theatrical hyperventilating leavened by threats and insults. The more serious the challenge, the more they bloviate. Failure only inflates their inner windbag. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State … Continue reading “The Failure of Huff and Puff Foreign Policy”