By now we all undoubtedly know that the new START requires the U.S. and Russia to limit their strategically deployed nuclear warheads to 1550 each. Though one wonders… Why 1550? A CNN article from last week begins to answer the question. The article notes that if the number of strategic nukes falls below a certain […]
Last week the NYT ran an editorial by Peter Feaver of Duke University that explains really well what the Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) actually says. I completely agree with Feaver that “the changes in terms of doctrine aren’t nearly as epochal as the White House would have us believe or its critics would have […]
Sorry I’ve been silent the last couple of weeks. In Alabama last week taking care of family stuff; returned home this week but have been laid low by Hay Fever. If any of you have any good remedies you can share it would be much appreciated! One day in the late 70’s, I was […]
Want an excuse to lament the sad state of American democracy? Look no further than Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyle’s bizarre debate about the new START on the PBS Newshour:
Victor Davis Hanson last week repeated a now familiar mantra: Obama = Bush. I wrote about this viewpoint before. As far as I can see, regarding national security, there’s nothing controversial about this conclusion. However, Hanson focuses on the liberal hypocrisy aspect of the issue and overstates his case. Obama campaigned on leaving a residual […]
I’ve seen relatively little Western press coverage of Israel’s recent Gaza bombings, so I thought it might be worthwhile to provide some links. It began a couple weeks ago in response to the Ansar al-Sunna rocket attacks. Reports emerged yesterday about Israeli drones dropping leaflets on Gaza warning of further attacks, which have already commenced. […]
Here is an editorial I came across earlier this week about deterrence. Penned by Russ Wellen for Huffintgon Post, the piece surveys some arguments and counterarguments about the effectiveness of deterrence. It is important to think about deterrence in the wake of the START news from last week. Though many have bought the party line […]
For some leisurely reading today, let Slate tell you why we’re in Guam.
After Lula, it looks like it’s the battle between Dull and Duller. Brazil’s presidential election in October is an important one, as the country’s success and new-found leadership role within the BRICs and G-20 make Latin America’s largest economy critical on the world stage. Lula has charisma, but his anointed successor from the PT party, Dilma […]
Last week Patrick Vilbert of the FPA Lebanon blog wrote a great post outlining the history and possible future of the UN Security Council-established investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. If any of the likely suspects are implicated, there could be seriously negative effects for the region. Vilbert writes: In 2009, an article in […]
I don’t agree at all with the Economist’s leader this week, which suggests that Barack Obama’s presidency was headed for failure until his health care victory last week. The health care victory was the icing on the cake, coming fourteen months into Obama’s first term, after he rescued the planet from an economic meltdown in a cooperative […]
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