Alan Bock

The victory this week in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas by Pablo Salazar, head of a coalition opposed to the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), is an important step in what appears to be the ongoing meltdown of PRI power in Mexico. It will certainly strengthen the hand of Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox, who … Continue reading “Chiapas and Mexican Prospects”

At the Democratic Convention, as at the Republican get-together a couple of weeks ago, the only place you’re likely to hear anything beyond mild criticism of tactics in foreign policy is in the streets. Even the "Shadow Convention," which touts its desire to deal with issues the major parties won’t address, with Arianna Huffington as … Continue reading “None But the Scruffy”

The General Accounting Office, Congress’s auditing and investigative arm, is known in Washington for producing often excellent analyses of government operations and departments that might serve as fodder for a speech or two but are subsequently ignored. It has produced an excellent report on military reform that the Washington Times recently acquired that is likely … Continue reading “Hard Choices the Parties are Avoiding”

Within the last week or so hope for peace in Kashmir, a region fiercely contested among India, Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists for decades has been raised by a couple of events few observers had expected. Abdul Majid Dar, commander of the militant Hizbul Muhajideen, generally viewed as being sponsored by the Pakistani government, announced a … Continue reading “Peace in Kashmir?”

It is hardly reason for despair that the Camp David "summit" called mainly so Boy Clinton could burnish his legacy seems to have ended in ostensible failure. It is doubtful that the failure will erase the modern superstition that wise and enlightened diplomacy and sustained negotiations can solve any problem in the world. But if … Continue reading “Failing to Endorse”

The almost manic fascination by most of the mainstream media about the current negotiations at Camp David – I weakened and watched a lot of network and cable news Monday night – might well turn out to be the stuff of nostalgia. I will be amazed if anything more than minor progress comes of it … Continue reading “The Last Camp David”

What got me started was a book review in the conservative magazine National Review of yet another of those books by sons of World War II-era fathers glorifying their participation in the "good war." This one was by the son of one of those who raised the American flag at Iwo Jima. As the reviewer, … Continue reading “Debunking the Greatest Generation”

Congress flirted earlier this year with taking a more assertive role in determining U.S. policy in Kosovo and the other countries in the Balkans, but ultimately chose to stick with the pattern that has characterized most of the last several decades: Congress grumps and grouses from time to time but essentially leaves foreign policy to … Continue reading “New World Order: The Bosnian Model”

The worst news of the week from a substantive perspective was the U.S. Senate’s approval of the vast bulk of the Clinton administration’s request for more money to conduct the misbegotten and unwinnable "drug war" in Colombia. The worst news from the perspective of what it says about our political culture and its watchfulness over … Continue reading “Into a New Quagmire”

To be sure, viewing last week’s meeting between President Kim Dae jung of South Korea and Kim Jong il, the dictator of North Korea as historic, heartening and a possible breakthrough for peace must be somewhat conditional. Mutual hostility stretching over 50 years cannot be erased in a day or a week. Anything resembling a … Continue reading “Korean Surprises”