The new U.S. ambassador in Moscow, John Sullivan, publicly stated that he got specific instructions from Mr. Trump to improve relations with Russia.
Tony Kevin: Why History Matters in Belarus
For centuries, the land on which the contemporary sovereign state of Belarus sits has been a fiercely contested borderland between Poland and Russia. It has changed hands many times over the centuries. It has seen bloody wars, forced annexations , forced population movements and racist pogroms. My study of relevant Wikipedia files, themselves fiercely contested as to content and missing citations, and other sources, demonstrates that emotions on all sides still run very raw on Belarusian history. [Read more…] about Tony Kevin: Why History Matters in Belarus
Dan Depetris: How impeachment damaged US foreign policy
Those who oppose the appropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. security assistance — a euphemistic term for lethal weaponry — to Kyiv are now being viewed skeptically. In contrast, others who support it are given carte-blanche to guide the debate.
Daniel Larison: Why are there still thousands of American troops in Syria?
Occupying Syrian territory indefinitely has nothing to do with defending the United States.
Daniel Larison: Don’t Ask Buttigieg About Foreign Policy
The Buttigieg campaign’s refusal to respond to new foreign policy questions is lazy at best.
Paul Robinson: Harassment
Media bias can be rather annoying. But on occasion, it can also be inadvertently amusing. Take the case of The Independent’s coverage of the recent clash between US and Russia in Syria…
Robert E. Hunter: Presidential Election Politics are Damaging U.S. Foreign Policy
It’s not just the White House that is doing serious damage to U.S. interests abroad during this year’s election campaign. Of even greater consequence (absent a new Middle East war) is the U.S. relationship with Russia.
Katrina vanden Heuvel: Trump hasn’t ended endless wars. Congress must use the War Powers Resolution.
How did we arrive at a situation where the two most heavily armed nuclear powers are facing off in rural Syria without congressional authorization?
Bonnie Kristian: Donald Trump’s Erratic Foreign Policy Is a Failure
The president talks a good talk about ending “endless wars,” to use a phrase from last year’s SOTU, but he has failed to extricate the United States from a single conflict. The incongruity is indefensible.
Nikolas K. Gvosdev: The Navalny Case Won’t Change Russia’s Relations With the West
Will there be much of a reaction at all?
Gordon Hahn: Another Look at Putin’s Proposed Constitutional Changes
The key question – besides the outcome of the 2021 Duma elections, now becomes what role Putin will have after 2024, assuming he does not leave the presidency before his term expires
Alan MacLeod: ‘Muscular’ Foreign Policy: Media Codeword for Violence Abroad
“Muscular,” along with similar words like “robust,” are commonly used in political reporting, especially with regards to foreign policy.
Gil Barndollar: Pete Buttigieg and Tulsi Gabbard offer a study in contrasts-in worldview and in service.
Media dismissal and outright slander has knee-capped Gabbard’s campaign to be president. Her fellow millennial veteran provided a small assist. Interviewed a week ago by Bill Maher, the late night host told Buttigieg, “You are the only military veteran in this.” “Yeah,” replied the mayor, his sister-in-arms erased.
New Criterion: A review of Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum
Anne Applebaum’s new work, Twilight of Democracy, is a disconnected and overwrought pamphlet (50,000 words) with an alarmist title unsustained by the contents.
NPR: U.S. Has Deployed New, Small Nukes On Submarine, According To Group
The U.S. has begun deploying a new type of low-yield nuclear warhead aboard some ballistic missile submarines, according to a report by an independent monitor.
Kelley Beaucar Vlahos: Is Syrian Oil Now A ‘U.S. National Interest’?
“I would like to see a presidential debate in which both Trump and Biden are forced to articulate why we are in Syria and why it is in our national interest to be there,” writes Kelley Vlahos.
Caroline Dorminey and Sumaya Malas: Want a Bipartisan, Common Ground Issue? Extend New START.
One of the most critical arms control agreements, the New Strategic Reduction Arms Treaty (New START), will disappear soon if leaders do not step up to save it.
Washington Times: Road clash with Russians renews debate over U.S. mission in Syria
It has been nearly two years since President Trump first announced a full military withdrawal from Syria.
William Arkin: Exclusive: With Attention on Iran, US Military Prepares For War With Russia
During the height of tensions with Iran last year, the United States conducted an unprecedented series of war games. Over five months, from May until the end of September, 93 separate military exercises were held, with forces operating continuously in, above and around 29 countries.
Paul Robinson: ‘Troubles come in threes’
Still struggling with the coronavirus, Russia’s leaders have this past week also been troubled by the protests in Belarus and the potential loss of a key ally. And now they face a third, and in some ways politically far more troublesome, problem – the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny.