The Uses of Ukraine

The observation that the Chinese characters for the word “crisis” combine the characters for “danger” and “opportunity” has become a staple of Washington foreign policy discourse for years. So it’s no surprise that the ongoing crisis in Ukraine – and Russia’s de facto...

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US ‘Democracy Promotion’ Destroys Democracy Overseas

It was almost ten years ago when, before the House International Relations Committee, I objected to the US Government funding NGOs to meddle in the internal affairs of Ukraine. At the time the “Orange Revolution” had forced a regime change in Ukraine with the help of...

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Foreign Policy Delusion Is Bipartisan

Mitt Romney is the kind of guy who just never goes away, even when you really, really want him to. Readers will recall that Mitt had some funny ideas about foreign policy back in 2012, insisting that Russia was our "number one geopolitical foe." He is now at...

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Taking on Putin: The Gessen Plan

What to do about Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea? This is the question of the hour for the War Party, and they are tearing their hair out in a paroxysm of frustration about what course to take. The Obama administration, for its part, seems content to get up on...

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Obama to Putin: Do as I Say Not as I Do

Dear Mr. President, As you ponder your potential moves regarding President Vladimir V. Putin’s annexation of Crimea (a large majority of its 2 million people are ethnic Russians), it is important to remember that whatever moral leverage you may have had in the...

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Marching as to War

Sweeping through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this week, Joe Biden reassured all three that the United States' commitment to Article Five of the NATO treaty remains "solemn" and "iron clad." Article Five commits us to war if the territory of any of these tiny Baltic...

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