The coronavirus outbreak that began in mid-December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei Province) has already exacted a serious human toll with tens of thousands of cases and well over a thousand deaths. In a globalized world with ubiquitous international travel it was inevitable that cases would emerge outside China – most of …
For a remarkably long time, Great Britain has exerted an outsized influence on the rest of the world. As early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), Britain was influencing events far from its shores. By 1760, Britain’s imperial domain already included much of North America and large parts of the Indian subcontinent. The …
China’s challenge to America and its drive for global primacy will dominate international politics for the foreseeable future. This contest will play out across the full spectrum of international affairs: economics, politics, science and technology, ideology and geographic/territorial control. A quick glance at the map will suggest where China’s initial territorial ambitions are focused. China …
It is January 2020, the beginning of not just a new year, but a new decade. The natural impulse at such a moment is to be hopeful, even optimistic. However, in the arena of foreign policy and international affairs this new year has started with a bombshell. On Friday, at President Trump’s order, a U.S. …
It has long been a truism in American politics that elections focus almost entirely on issues of domestic policy while foreign policy is barely mentioned. As a result, we elect presidents with hardly a clue as to how they will handle their international portfolio. It is remarkable when you think about it because the United …
For this writer, the ongoing impeachment inquiry in Congress has generated two principal observations. First, it is a fact that as president, Donald Trump has committed multiple crimes that warrant impeachment and removal from office. They include the use of the presidency (and taxpayer dollars) to further his own personal political and financial interests, witness …
National defense strategy has traditionally focused on the role of military forces (air, land and sea) supplemented by intelligence operations (espionage and covert disruptions of an adversary’s economy and government). With the launch of Russia’s Sputnik in 1957 a new arena opened up — space. Intercontinental ballistic missiles and surveillance satellites became integral to American …
President Trump announced on Sunday that a daring U.S. commando raid in Syria resulted in the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State and the world’s most wanted terrorist. The longer-term implications of this event will become clear over time, but there is much we already know. (1) Baghdadi was the architect …
The minimum requirements for an effective foreign policy can be summed up in two points: (1) it must be guided by and serve the national interest and (2) it must be informed, i.e. based on knowledge and expertise. Grounding in the national interest should be almost second nature for any policymaker. As for knowledge, the …
As this is written, the House of Representatives has begun the formal process to determine whether the President should be impeached, i.e. removed from office. Even if the House does vote for articles of impeachment — in effect, an indictment — the President will not be removed unless the Senate, sitting as a court in …
The war in Afghanistan has lasted for 18 years and is the longest in U.S. history. It has cost over 4,000 American deaths — military and civilian. It began with an American military response to the 9/11 attacks directed by Osama bin Laden from Afghanistan. The initial objective of the G.W. Bush administration was clear: …
The good news is that today more people in the world live better than ever before. The global economy is more productive and creates more wealth than at any time in human history. This is no accident; it is the result of unceasing effort by governments, businesses and private citizens over many decades. During that …
