The multiplicity of Kurdish national movements throughout the Middle East adds an additional layer of complexity in the fight against ISIS.
The Turkish Central Bank raised interest rates drastically on January 28, re-setting the one-week bank lending rate at 10 percent, up from 4.5 percent, and hiking its rate on overnight lending to banks from 7.75 percent to 12 percent. The move has ramifications for America’s influence in the world. In Turkish politics, […]
In earlier posts (here, here, and here), I argued that the Obama administration’s national security process is plagued by extreme insularity, centralization and politicization. This is a widely held criticism, regularly repeated not just by the president’s detractors but also former administration staffers and friendly commentators. And the new revelations by Robert M. Gates, the much-respected national security […]
In earlier posts (here, here,here and here), I’ve argued that the Obama administration’s national security process is plagued by extreme insularity, centralization and politicization. Ultimately, however, these institutional problems are a reflection of the person sitting in the Oval Office. The deepening Obamacare fiasco has raised plenty of questions about President Obama’s leadership qualities. But two reports this […]
The management flaws now coming to light in the implementation of the president’s signature domestic achievement have long been evident in the foreign policy realm. As I argue in a new essay on Fair Observer’s website, the White House’s policymaking machinery is overly insular, centralized and politicized. Dana Milbank, the Washington Post columnist who is generally supportive of Mr. […]
In his journey to the White House, Barack Obama made much hay railing against his predecessor’s supposedly go-it-alone mindset and penchant for foreign policy unilateralism. With memories still fresh of the spectacular rupture between Washington and its traditional European allies over the Iraq war, Obama’s claim to be the “anti-Bush” garnered him a euphoric welcome […]
The future is not what it used to be due to George P. Mitchell, the Texas wildcatter who passed away last week.* He helped usher in a new era of American dynamism by perfecting the hydraulic fracturing techniques (“fracking”) that have unlocked vast gas and oil deposits previously thought inaccessible within tightly-packed shale rock beds […]
If it were easy to do, an American president would have long ago shepherded Israelis and Palestinians into the negotiated two-state peace agreement that both peoples and their neighbors so clearly need — a peace that would greatly enhance U.S. interests.
Last Friday, Hillary Clinton left her post as Secretary of State as one of the most traveled secretaries of all time. She’s leaving with an approval rating of 70%, higher than any outgoing secretary of state measured since 1948, with the exception of Colin Powell. Clinton has said she’s going to catch up on 20 […]
“To work with all our heart and all of our might to make sure that America is secure, that our interests are promoted and our values are respected.” – Former Secretary of State Clinton If only former Secretary of State Clinton had remained true to the words she uttered so many times during her […]
Just prior to the inauguration, The Brookings Institution released a briefing book, “Big Bets and Black Swans,” examining the key foreign policy challenges President Obama faces as he begins his second term. The section on the Eurozone, written by Justin Vaiesse and Thomas Wright — identifies a potential euro failure as a “black swan” — […]
A regular theme on this blog (here, here, here and here) is how the marked surge in U.S. oil and natural gas production over the past several years is reviving America’s strategic prospects. The energy boom, which is due largely to innovations in extraction technology – namely, hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) and horizontal drilling – that […]
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