Doug Bandow

Eight years ago George W. Bush was elected president after promising to implement a more "humble" foreign policy. He reacted against the Clinton administration’s preference to intervene militarily when there were no conceivable American interests at stake – Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo – and advocated a more traditional and limited U.S. role in the world. … Continue reading “The American People Render Their Electoral Judgment: Time to Finish Off the Neoconservatives”

Over the last eight years the Bush administration has sacrificed American lives, resources, and influence at every turn. President George W. Bush, with the avid support of Sen. John McCain and most of the Republican Party, took the US into an unnecessary war in Iraq, increased the number of America’s enemies and the threat of … Continue reading “Conservative Fantasies: A World Never More Dangerous”

Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy Bruce Fein Palgrave/Macmillan, 2008 238 pp. The presidential election is almost upon us, and the candidates have been talking about all sorts of critical issues, such as who wears a flag pin, pays for travel for a candidate’s children, associates with bad people, … Continue reading “Constitutional Peril“

The impact of the Russia-Georgia war continues to reverberate. Gen. James Craddock, NATO’s Supreme Commander, has requested authority to develop contingency plans to defend the Eastern European countries. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski recently told an American audience that "We need to make NATO’s traditional security guarantees credible again" and that "NATO needs to recover … Continue reading “The NATO Alliance: Dangerous Anachronism”

The American empire is kaput. Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama realizes that fact yet, but the myth of the omnipotent unipower, the essential nation, the country which declares that what it says goes, has been exposed to all. The Iraq debacle sullied Washington’s reputation, but did not destroy the illusion of American indispensability. Assorted … Continue reading “Economic Collapse: The Financial Death of the US Empire”

America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier PublicAffairs 412 pp. The end of the Cold War – the dissolution of the Soviet Union, crash of the Eastern European Soviet satellites, collapse of the Warsaw Pact, and fall of the Berlin Wall – was an extraordinary moment in human history. … Continue reading “America Between the Wars“

Six decades have passed since World War II ended, but you wouldn’t know it from relations between South Korea and Japan. The two leading democratic, capitalist powers in East Asia – both close US allies – have been blustering over the status of 33 barren but contested blocks of rock. Cooperation over truly important issues, … Continue reading “Time to Tell Irresponsible Allies No Thanks”

U.S. vs. Them: How a Half Century of Conservatism Has Undermined America’s Security J. Peter Scoblic Viking, 2008 350 pp. From what stems the disastrous course of U.S. foreign policy? J. Peter Scoblic, an editor at the New Republic, argues that labels are easily applied but explain little: "calling the Iraq war a unilateral, military … Continue reading “U.S. vs. Them“

John McCain believes that he should be president because only he is prepared to meet the inevitable foreign policy challenges. Only he will put the nation’s interest first. Whatever you think of the economy, civil liberties, or social issues, they don’t matter. Only John McCain is ready to be the military’s commander in chief. It’s … Continue reading “The Hothead and
the Finger on the Button”

It’s still not certain what motivated the Georgian government to launch its attack on South Ossetia in the face of ongoing Russian hostility and recent military maneuvers which all-but guaranteed a swift and devastating response. Georgia’s Deputy Defense Minister Batu Kutelia said simply: "We did not prepare for this kind of eventuality." His government was … Continue reading “Georgian Fantasies: Where are the Americans?”