THE INCOMPETENCE OF EMPIRE

Leon Hadar, a foreign policy analyst whose books and articles for the libertarian Cato Institute have long argued for a foreign policy of restraint, worries aloud in the Business Times that George W. Bush may lose support if he doesn’t invade somebody, somehow, and soon. While support for the President is at an all-time high, … Continue reading “THE INCOMPETENCE OF EMPIRE”

New War May Reveal New Superpower

On this 52nd anniversary of the founding of this magnificent nation, not much transpired. Girls dressed up as they always do and pranced around this or that stage. Men toasted each other, bought stuffed toys for 200 yuan, pretending to be rich. Pink ballons were the rave this time around. The balloon hawkers stared into … Continue reading “New War May Reveal New Superpower”

From Infinite Justice to Infinite Jihad

All the media coverage and commentary has neglected to ask the big question: why is it or how is it that the new U.S. war will differ from the Soviet experience in Afghanistan? That 1980-88 war was labeled by many Americans as the "Soviets’ Vietnam," which raises yet another current glaring omission, that being a … Continue reading “From Infinite Justice to Infinite Jihad”

Big Government, Having Never Gone Away, Is Now Said To Be ‘Back’

A POSSIBLE USE FOR HISTORY This column is called The Old Cause because I think of it as a place to sketch out certain continuities between past and present. William Appleman Williams once wrote that history is "a way of learning." From our excursions into the past, "we return with a broader awareness of the … Continue reading “Big Government, Having Never Gone Away, Is Now Said To Be ‘Back’”

KILL ‘EM – AND GET OUT

Although it is far too early to tell, it looks like the grand-scale invasion of Afghanistan – and virtually the entire Middle East – envisioned by our more aggressive warhawks is not about to happen. While the President’s speech to Congress clearly identified the Taliban as a threat right up there with "fascism, Nazism, and … Continue reading “KILL ‘EM – AND GET OUT”