The Obama administration is being either naive or delusional in its belief that Russia will ever pull in the same direction over Syria. Putin will back al-Assad to the bitter end.
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Violent Spring
Is it just 10 years since Bush Jr. launched his disastrous invasion of Iraq? It feels more like a hundred.
The lives lost and treasure squandered seem a disproportionate price for yet another lesson in human hubris and the irony of history.
Remembering Mark Hummels
Mark was my classmate in journalism school. I remember taking smoking breaks with him and laughing. He was funny as hell.
Now Mark has made news as the latest victim of America’s nihilistic gun violence.
We won’t forget you, bro. Rest in peace.
Germany and Drones
Military experience gained in the Balkans, the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan has made Germany more, not less, assertive. One of the clearest signs is Angela Merkel’s pursuit of weaponized drones.
Hail to the Chief
Eight years ago, I watched in despair as Bush Jr. was reelected. I felt no vindication when his presidency ended in disaster.
Obama is the antidote to W’s betrayal of America’s ideals. He can work no miracles. But he must try.
How Russia Fears Being Forgotten
Putin needs the U.S. as an enemy, because it builds him up as a brave leader and allows him to crack down on internal dissent. The regimes in Iran, Venezuela or North Korea are no different in their dependence on U.S. censure – the harsher, the better.
Right to Life
When I was a boy, I was taught that every right is accompanied by responsibilities. None of the rights in the U.S. Constitution exist in a vacuum. Thankfully, there are limits to owning grenades, cannons and tanks.
It’s high time to expand the list. Freedom is not a license for anarchy.
Cloaks and Daggers
In America, the CIA chief quits because of a sex scandal, though nobody believes that’s why he really had to go. In Russia, the defense minister resigns because of a corruption scandal, but everybody thinks an extramarital affair was the true reason.
Double standards or standard duplicity?
A President for the World
Obama would have won a landslide if the whole world could have voted. Yet his global popularity isn’t entirely of his own making. Most people in most places already admire America for its openness, diversity and opportunity. Obama just embodies these qualities like no U.S. leader before him.
He’s the first president of the world.
Faraway, So Close
Vladimir Putin arrived in Berlin an hour late after first visiting Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko. The symbolism was clear: Angela Merkel, Germany and the West can wait – and not just an hour but two whole weeks.
