Taiwan tripwire September 21, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion Under the Trump administration, U.S.-China relations have moved rapidly and dramatically from a prevailing mood of engagement to one of sharp rivalry. The arena has been primarily economics (trade and investment) as the administration has imposed tariffs on a growing range of Chinese exports to the United States and has threatened to extend new tariffs …
John McCain in his own words September 7, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion It has been nearly two weeks since John McCain died, and he would be the first to say it is now time to move on. However, when a hero dies we can reasonably mourn a bit longer. I did not know McCain personally. I attended Senate hearings where he presided and spoke, but that was …
Iran: Case study in defective policy August 17, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion The United States, like other major countries, maintains extensive diplomatic, defense and intelligence capabilities to support the nations’s policy initiatives. In turn, those policies should meet certain basic tests or criteria if they are to warrant such support. These tests include: 1) Does the proposed policy/strategy serve important national interests? 2) Does it embody goals …
Making Russia great again July 27, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion It has been a week since the grotesque and now infamous Helsinki summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. But the passage of a little time has not dulled the shock of watching an American President grovel and debase himself in front of a Russian autocrat. An ethnic Russian analyst at the Brookings Institution described …
Trade war July 13, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion The Trump Administration has launched a no-kidding trade war with China — and no one who knows Donald Trump well is surprised. If this President has one core belief, it is that the U.S. has been the victim of unfair trade practices by other countries aided and abetted by bad trade agreements signed by previous …
Immigration becomes insoluble June 29, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Marvin Ott, Opinion It is hard to recall another instance where the government of the United States has looked as chaotic and incompetent as it has along the southern border over recent days. In May, the administration announced a “zero tolerance” policy toward illegal migrants that would mean the arrest of any unauthorized border crosser and (probably) the …
Tale of two elections June 8, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion In the last month, we have witnessed elections in two very comparable countries, Malaysia and Venezuela, with results that could hardly be more dissimilar. In the recent Malaysian elections — in a drama worthy of Shakespeare — the voters ended 61 years of unbroken rule by the Barisan Nasional party dominated by its ethnic Malay …
The end of the Iran deal May 25, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Marvin Ott, Opinion Early last week, President Trump announced that the United States would cease to observe its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, better known as the Iran deal. His public statement — replete with untruths, half-truths and distortions — amounted to a declaration that Iran was violating the agreement and could not be trusted. …
North Korea rethinking assumptions May 11, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion Over recent weeks, events involving North Korea have been dramatic, to say the least. In rapid succession, we have gone from Pyongyang’s surprise participation in the Winter Olympics to a highly choreographed and visually compelling meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas. This is all prelude to an imminent summit between Kim Jong Un …
Japan in doubt April 27, 2018 by Marvin Ott on Columnists, Marvin Ott, Opinion Japan has long been the linchpin of the U.S. security strategy in Asia. The current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, is deeply invested personally and politically in nurturing the U.S.-Japan alliance. But no country and no prime minister views the rapidly changing developments in U.S.-North Korean relations with more doubt and angst that Mr. Abe. As …
