John Feffer

Closing Overseas Bases Is Good Policy and Good Politics

It has been like a cross between a suspense and a horror movie. If the committee doesn’t come up with a compromise by the Thanksgiving deadline, the axes will come out. Perhaps only Washington insiders appreciate the suspense. As for the horror part, the blood will flow only later and largely out of sight of … Continue reading “Closing Overseas Bases Is Good Policy and Good Politics”

Pyongyang 1, Bush 0

Five years ago, when George W. Bush took office, North Korea didn’t claim membership in the nuclear club. Its plutonium-reprocessing facilities were frozen. It was even willing to negotiate away its missile program. Instead of pursuing the diplomatic route, the Bush administration tried to ignore Pyongyang. Then came the school-yard taunts such as lumping North … Continue reading “Pyongyang 1, Bush 0”

Caught in the Muddle: Round Two of Bush vs. North Korea

Hope springs eternal that the Bush administration, in its new postelection configuration, will finally get serious about the North Korean nuclear crisis. According to the most optimistic assessment, the new appointments at the State Department – Condoleezza Rice, Robert Zoellick, Christopher Hill – will leaven the administration’s hardline policy with a measure of pragmatism. This … Continue reading “Caught in the Muddle: Round Two of Bush vs. North Korea”

Bring the Troops Home (from Korea)

The vortex of Korean politics can make even Donald Rumsfeld sound like the most radical Korean peace activist. “After the cold war,” he declared on June 3, “U.S. forces have been stationed in South Korea for too long.” The occasion was the announcement of the largest U.S. troop reductions from the Korean peninsula since the … Continue reading “Bring the Troops Home (from Korea)”