Biden and Co. Take Aim at Central Europe

Not content with the multitude of disasters that they’ve helped set in motion over the past three years, the Biden administration now seems to have put another target in its sights: Central Europe. On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken swept through Vienna and in keeping with the longstanding wishes of Brussels and Washington … Continue reading “Biden and Co. Take Aim at Central Europe”

Patriot Games: The Ideologies of American Warmongers

Just how stupid do they think we are? The balance of evidence provided by the public statements of senior Biden administration officials would suggest, very. Take the following vignette from US undersecretary of state Victoria Nuland’s speech on February 22nd in Washington: …I visited a center in Kyiv, that the U.S. supports, which helps Ukrainian … Continue reading “Patriot Games: The Ideologies of American Warmongers”

Post-Soviet Failures, Present-Day Realities

Two years since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine – and fully 10 years since the war actually began –  the US political-media establishment seems as far away from learning any lessons from the failure of its post-Soviet Russia policy as it has ever been. The Biden administration’s policy toward Russia is simply the logical extension of that … Continue reading “Post-Soviet Failures, Present-Day Realities”

The ‘Disinformation’ Complex and US Foreign Policy

During Mr. Obama’s second term in office (2013-2017), it had become clear that the terms of the public policy debate were undergoing a radical and worrying transformation. In the space of a very short time, certain ideas and policy proposals were being ruled as out of bounds not on the grounds that they were unwise, … Continue reading “The ‘Disinformation’ Complex and US Foreign Policy”

Letter from ThinkTankLand: Foreign Influence in American Politics

The odious ritual whereby representatives of foreign governments travel to Washington to tell us our business has become so routine it hardly even registers. And, down the years, hosting such rituals has become a (if not the) primary function of Washington’s think tanks which, also to no one’s surprise, draws millions and millions in funding from these … Continue reading “Letter from ThinkTankLand: Foreign Influence in American Politics”

Nancy Pelosi’s New Adventures in McCarthyism

Over the weekend, noting the ongoing opposition to the far-right Israeli regime’s war on the civilians of Gaza, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi charged that: …For them to call for a cease-fire is Putin’s message, Mr. Putin’s message. Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It’s … Continue reading “Nancy Pelosi’s New Adventures in McCarthyism”

The Unreality of US Foreign Policy

This weekend the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration has drawn up plans for “a sustained military campaign targeting the Houthis in Yemen.” For those who may understandably have lost count, that would make three regional wars the Biden Administration has embroiled us in over the past three years. If nothing else the Biden administration has shown beyond … Continue reading “The Unreality of US Foreign Policy”

Neocons Blame America First

The blame game has commenced; America’s Ukraine hawks have met the enemy, and it is us. Informed observers here and abroad acknowledge that the war of attrition between Russia and US- and NATO- funded Ukraine has taken roughly half a million Ukrainian lives, and that, given Russian superiority in manpower and materiel, Kiev would be … Continue reading “Neocons Blame America First”

The Best and The Brightest, Redux

Reprinted with the author’s permission from the American Committee for US-Russia Accord. Well-heeled and highly credentialed, the proteges of powerful political patrons with ties to New Haven, Cambridge, Oxbridge and corporate America occupy the highest councils of government and advise a sitting US president who, while blessed with long experience as a US Senator, hails from rather less-exalted circumstances than … Continue reading “The Best and The Brightest, Redux”

Tel Aviv’s Man in Washington

In a city awash in foreign interests, dual citizens, and intersecting and at times conflicting loyalties, sometimes the most egregious examples are hiding in plain sight. While largely complicit in the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ that dictates, among many other things, that we never ever mention that the Long Island-raised editor of the once venerable Atlantic magazine … Continue reading “Tel Aviv’s Man in Washington”