Spencer Ackerman identifies the most absurd part of Robert Kagan’s latest essay on rivalry with China: But those are the trees. This line is the forest: "If ever there could be a cure for American political polarization, a conflict with China would be it."...
Biden Steers Clear of Foreign Policy
Even by the standards of past State of the Union addresses, Biden’s speech last night was remarkably light on references to foreign policy. Stephen Wertheim commented on this during the speech:By Biden's own account, the United States today faces a risk of...
Israel Attacks Iran (Again)
The Israeli government launched another attack inside Iran this weekend:A drone attack on an Iranian military facility that resulted in a large explosion in the center of the city of Isfahan on Saturday was the work of the Mossad, Israel’s premier intelligence agency,...
Bolton’s Big Error on China and North Korea
For some reason, The Washington Post lets John Bolton hold forth about China and North Korea:Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Beijing in early February to meet with his new Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang. Bilateral relations between their two countries...
The Economic Warfare Body Count
Vladimir Milov insists that sanctions on Russia are “working”:Expecting immediate results is unrealistic and even counterproductive. Given time, sanctions may well deter Russia’s aggressive behavior.Sanctions advocates always point to sanctions’ economic...
Learning the Lessons of Failure in Venezuela
James Bosworth looks back at the failed experiment with U.S.-led international backing for Juan Guaidó as “interim” president of Venezuela:Disputed elections are far too common in Latin America, but only rarely has such a divide between the de jure and de facto...
Remembering How Close We Came to Disaster With North Korea
The US and North Korea came dangerously close to war during Trump’s presidency. This is often discounted or forgotten in assessments of Trump’s foreign policy record because the war didn’t happen and Trump then made a big show of meeting with Kim Jong-un, but the...
Beware the Hawkish Consensus on China
Judah Grunstein warns against the entrenchment of the hawkish consensus on China:The result is that competition and even potential conflict are now considered the default position for relations with China; those who suggest that cooperation – even on existential...
The US Should Not Be in the Business of Regime Change
Eric Edelman and Ray Takeyh want the US to “help” Iranian protesters:They want regime change. The United States should help from afar by increasing sanctions and improving communication among the demonstrators. If most Iranians want to change their political system,...
Facing the Failure of Our Cruel Venezuela Policy
Venezuelan opposition legislators voted last week to dissolve their interim government, and with that they have ended the project of trying to replace Maduro with Juan Guaidó:But nearly four years later and with little to show for the effort, the experiment has come...
