Alan Bock

With the downing/landing/whatever of the U.S. spy plane on the Chinese island of Hainan, talk of sovereignty is once again rampant. Was the airplane actually over territory that the Chinese nation claims as a sovereign as part of its airspace? Can the United States claim that the interior of the plane is in law a … Continue reading “Considering Sovereignty”

It might turn out to be fortunate, although I see no evidence yet that the timing was other than coincidental, that the current Serbian government arrested Slobodan Milosevic the same week the Bush administration was confronted with its first major foreign-policy incident with the downing of a U.S. spy plane near Chinese territorial waters. With … Continue reading “Let the Serbs Handle Slobo”

It is possible to view events this week as evidence that an administration that has evinced little passionate interest in foreign policy, assuming office after a campaign in which foreign policy played almost no role in the debates or the outcome, could be drawn inexorably into deeper involvement in some of the many crises around … Continue reading “Toward a Less Intrusive Foreign Policy?”

Is there a chance the Bush Administration will do anything other than muddle through with the failed and failing policies put in place by the Clinton administration in Kosovo and the Balkans? Early on some comments by National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice suggested that it was time to rethink what has in essence become an … Continue reading “Decision Time in Kosovo Coming?”

The news from Colombia early this week was anything but encouraging. Over the weekend leftist guerrillas killed six people and kidnapped several others. Bomb attacks in Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, leveled buildings near a military base and injured three people. A bomb exploded Sunday in Cartagena, a popular tourist spot on the Caribbean coast. Then … Continue reading “Decision Time in Colombia?”

The Zapatista Liberation Front from the Mexican province of Chiapas, along with various hangers-on, is marching from its stronghold in the south to Mexico City to confer with Mexican president Vicente Fox, who has just assumed power and has made resolution of the largely indigenous-based revolt in Chiapas a relatively high priority. You won’t get … Continue reading “Revolution as Tourist Attraction?”

Was I the only one who sensed a sort of plaintiveness in the president’s assertion? "The no-fly zones are enforced on a daily basis," said George W. as he touched lightly on the decision of British and American warplanes to dump bombs on targets outside the no-fly zone. "It’s part of a strategy." You could … Continue reading “Bombing for . . . What?”

The overwhelming victory in the Israeli prime ministerial election by former defense ministers and noted hawk Ariel Sharon could be viewed as a harbinger of wider conflict and violence in the region. Despite his margin over Ehud Barak, however, Sharon may not have nearly as much latitude to do what he wants as some observers … Continue reading “Middle East: A Time for Reassessment”

Even as Dubya is earning unexpectedly good reviews for his first couple of weeks in office (a generally meaningless indicator of which the media are nonetheless inordinately fond), especially for his deft handling of domestic issues and Congress, there are rumblings about rifts among the Bush foreign policy advisers. Or perhaps some folks are trying … Continue reading “Tussling in the Bush Foreign Policy Team?”

Once again, I’m mainly passing on information, offering only a smattering of commentary or assessment. The source is an experienced retired diplomat who knows many of and has worked with some of the members of the Bush foreign policy team. He offered his comments last week to members of the Orange County World Affairs Council. … Continue reading “Bush Team: Good People, No Larger Vision Yet”