Alan Bock

Those who know me often accuse me of being Pollyannaish in my long-range optimism, noting that I still believe, unlike most post-Marxists, that the state will eventually wither away (although I’ve come to accept the likelihood that it just might not happen during my lifetime). So take this with whatever saline dosage seems appropriate. It … Continue reading “With a Whimper?”

"Bush views new report on spy lapses with favor," was the headline on the New York Times story previewing the latest commission that reported several weeks ago on the manifest and manifold U.S. government intelligence failures in detecting "illicit" weapons and weapons programs abroad. As well he might. The 600-plus-page report not only placed almost … Continue reading “A Useful Whitewash”

In the 1950s and 1960s, the curious profession of Kremlinologist was developed among academics and the intelligence community. These worthies made it their business to try to figure out what the less-than-scrutable folks running the Kremlin were likely to do. It seemed clear to most observers then that insofar as Moscow adhered to ideology it … Continue reading “Is Iran Next?”

Events will no doubt present us other crises and opportunities. Lebanon could blow up, something significant might happen in the Palestinian-Israeli situation, the U.S. might bomb Iran, there might be more visible troubles in Colombia, and confrontations over Taiwan or North Korea are certainly possible. But if the antiwar movement is to revive itself after … Continue reading “Getting Withdrawal Done”

Approach my inferences in the following with caution. It can be dangerous to infer too much from experiences and anecdotes separated by a long period of time, especially when events have intervened that might offer a more satisfactory explanation. With that caution, however, I would like to advance the tentative hypothesis that the United States … Continue reading “Signs of Imperial Sclerosis?”

Let me deal first with an issue raised by a reader who called me Monday morning after hearing a brief synopsis on the radio and asked if I had yet read the long piece in Sunday’s New York Times dealing with assertions from both the Iraqi interim government and the International Atomic Energy Agency that … Continue reading “Dealing with China”

President Bush was uncharacteristically slow to take credit, in his speech this week at the National Defense University, for what appear to be democratic-like changes in the Middle East. This might have been in part because if you’re just counting numbers, which to some extent is what democracy as such boils down to, the 500,000-strong … Continue reading “Parsing the President”

Well, it is not that difficult to see that something potentially quite important is happening in Lebanon. It certainly seems to be a move in the direction of independence and the idea of a civil society with democratic underpinnings – and the move is reflected or echoed elsewhere in the Middle East. What is much … Continue reading “Lebanon: Hope and Trepidation”

It is difficult enough to try to figure out what President Bush’s real goals are during his current whirlwind trip to Europe. It is more than possible that the trip has more to do with asserting imperial dominion – or at least reminding people that the United States is still the world’s sole superpower – … Continue reading “Mending Fences With Russia?”

The assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri gave the United States an opportunity to demonstrate maturity and respect for the ability of people in the Middle East to handle their own affairs even (or especially) when those affairs have a tragic tinge. Naturally, the U.S. blew it and came off as something of … Continue reading “Levantine Complications”