Alan Bock

Presidents, prime ministers and/or high public officials from Russia, China, Germany, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, the European Union, Turkey and Indonesia were almost as red-faced as the network anchors were (or should have been) over the shifting projections that seemed to give the U.S. presidential election to Bush and Gore and back to too-close-to-call … Continue reading “Undermining the Empire”

With the troubles in the Middle East consuming so much of the media’s short attention span (destroying any semblance of belief that the West can impose a "peace process" on the area but hardly destroying diplomatic delusions) hardly any attention is being paid to Colombia. The Republicans (with the honorable exception of Rep. Tom Campbell, … Continue reading “Colombia Ignored in Campaign”

This is being written before this week’s presidential debate, but I suspect it is not high-risk prognostication to suggest that the major-party candidates will sidestep this opportunity determinedly, if not necessarily with agility. Events in the Middle East over the past several weeks could open up the possibility of a thoroughgoing discussion of the unnecessary … Continue reading “Another Missed Opportunity?”

The most striking thing about the current violence in the Middle East is the manic meddling by various elements of the "international community," that floating craps game of diplomats, bureaucrats and experts who consider themselves the avatars of good sense and acceptable international behavior. Whether it’s President Clinton frantically working the phones as if this … Continue reading “Imperial Meddling in Jerusalem”

Nobody wants to acknowledge the possibility that the current violence in Jerusalem is not so much an anomaly as something like the release of pent-up hostilities on both sides that have been papered over – that there are simply too many unresolved hostilities between Palestinians and Israelis to make talks of a "peace process" anything … Continue reading “Sad Triumph of Reality”

Whether or not there is a runoff election, and even whether or not Slobodan Milosevic leaves office in the near future, it seems likely that the political leadership and perhaps even the political atmosphere in Yugoslavia is about to change seriously. It is still unclear whether the change is likely to be better for the … Continue reading “Promoting or Deterring Democracy?”

It remains to be seen whether the impulse has “legs,” as they say in show biz and in that branch of it that they call politics. But the freeing of physicist Wen Ho Lee from solitary confinement in New Mexico has focused renewed attention on the case of John Deutch, the former CIA director who … Continue reading “Wen Ho Lee, John Deutch and the Future of Intelligence”

Given Justin Raimondo’s enthusiasm for Pitchfork Pat, perhaps it is mildly out of line on this site. Still, this Web site has always been open to antiwar views from all sides of the spectrum, wheel or whatever metaphor one chooses to represent the variety of political inclinations. So it might not be out of line … Continue reading “A Libertarian Alternative for Voters”

President Clinton’s national security adviser Sandy Berger insists the U.S. incursion into a long-running civil war – er, excuse me, $1.3 billion worth of assistance to the government in fighting the drug war – in Colombia is not like Vietnam. Not at all. "The fact is, this is nothing similar whatsoever," he told the Associated … Continue reading “Colombia Morass”

At the Democratic National Convention all the talk was of whether – or to what extent – Bill Clinton would overshadow designated candidate Al Gore. Having been in the hall for both speeches, I would say the Democratic delegates gathered in Staples Center – well to the left of the general run of Democrats, let … Continue reading “It’s Good to be King”