History should matter

Given the large turnover in newly elected members of both houses of Congress and the ascent of the twenty-somethings to positions of power in the White House, it is pretty clear why American governments suffer from near fatal bouts of historical amnesia or, worse, ignorance.  Understanding the past is not a panacea for predicting the future.  But not every crisis or issue is tabula rosa and many have roots deep in history. Some regard the situation in Ukraine and Crimea as a new form of political warfare.  Much of this overly hyped and misinformed description is mistakenly based on former KGB lieutenant colonel Vladimir Putin’s background in the intelligence service.  [...]

America strikes out (again!)

Two writers as different and diverse as Charles Dickens and Carl von Clausewitz set the context for American politics in the 21st century.  More Americans would agree that the worst is getting the better of the best of times at home and internationally.  The U.S. economy is sputtering and from Afghanistan to Ukraine chaos and violence have displaced peace and stability as the leading edge indicators. Against this rather bleak outlook, theoretically viable and even straight-forward solutions exist.  To deal with the economy, reform of the tax code and regulatory and immigration systems and creation of a national infrastructure bank are self-evident actions that should be easily implemented.  And likewise, [...]

America’s Achilles heart

Since 1789, ambivalence over America’s international role and responsibilities has persisted.  This tension can be captured in terms of George Washington’s pragmatism not to seek permanent entanglements abroad and Woodrow Wilson’s idealism in fighting the “war to end all wars” to make “the world safe for democracy.”  Washington’s argument was amplified by John Adams’ warning against seeking foreign monsters to slay.  Unfortunately, presidents from John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush were deaf to such wisdom.   Americans have often been seduced or mesmerized by the siren-like call of aiding democracies and especially those pleading for help in establishing them.  Foreign wars that eventually would embroil America attracted [...]

The battle of the Mr. Cools

If the situation in Ukraine were not so dire for the Ukrainian people, what a parody this could be.  Facing off are two Mr. Cools.  In the eastern corner is President Vlad Putin emulating tough guy actor Humphrey Bogart but in a smaller version of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s muscular body.  Whether Vlad thinks he is Peter the Great, Nicholas II (the last of the Romanov line) or Mikhail Gorbachev (who imploded the Soviet Union), his bare chested he-man style is surely good for the Russian soul. In the western corner is President Barry Obama whose studied intellectual aloofness is meant to confound his adversary.  Still keen on leading from behind after [...]

John Kerry’s determination

The current buzz in Washington’s bazaars is questioning whether the peripatetic Secretary of State John Kerry is determined or delusional in his multi-faceted quest to solve among the most intractable of global conflicts.  Some see Kerry as a 21st century Don Quixote tilting at windmills. Except, these windmills can bite back.  Others applaud his doggedness and courage to persist.   So far, a dozen trips to the Middle East to broker a deal between Palestinians and Israel have not achieved that outcome.  Russian help in removing Bashar al Assad’s chemical weapons from Syria was indeed a welcome and positive step.  But the Syrian civil war grows no closer to ending [...]

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