Freezing Iran’s nuclear ambitions: faux pas, fiasco or flash of genius?

In an extraordinary time, by any measure last week was extraordinary. On Thursday, the Senate went nuclear. The super-majority requirement of 60 votes that allowed the revered “filibuster” to block confirmation of most presidential appointees was ended. Friday marked the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s death.  And Sunday brought the news of a nuclear agreement between the P-5 Plus One (the permanent member of the UN Security Council---the U.S., UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany and Lady Catherine Ashton, foreign policy head of the European Union) and Iran. The specifics will be closely studied.  The agreement “freezes” Iran for six months from enriching uranium; destroying so-called HEU (highly [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:29+02:0028 noiembrie 2013|Blog, Harlan Ullman, Orientul Mijlociu, Regiuni|0 Comentarii
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Desperately needed: a new security mindset for the 21st century

Since George Washington was America’s first commander-in-chief, successive administrations have often been accused of either lacking a strategy or having one that did not work. The major exceptions perhaps were the bipartisan policies of containment and deterrence that ultimately prevailed over the Soviet Union.  The debate then focused more on means than on ends. Unfortunately, the success of the Cold War has perpetuated a 20th century mindset for national security that cannot and will not work in the 21st century.  Until we create a relevant framework and paradigm, unless we are unconscionably lucky, our policies will be flawed.  And critics will sadly prove correct in assailing our inability to “think strategically.” The [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:29+02:0028 noiembrie 2013|America, Analize si studii, Blog, Harlan Ullman, Regiuni, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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Worse than a bad joke: a broke and broken U.S. government

The great American and Oklahoman humorist Will Rogers had a toxic view of Congress eighty or so years ago and long before Congress bashing became a contact sport for late night television hosts.  “Every time Congress wanted to pass a law, it became a joke,” Rogers quipped.  “And every time Congress wished to make a joke, they turned it into a law.” Today, the U.S. government is worse than Rogers’ bad joke. Failure to pass a budget is now standard operating procedure.  Should the debt-ceiling limit be unreconciled by October 17th and the nation defaults, the consequences are almost certainly going to be bad and grow worse the longer government is [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:29+02:0018 octombrie 2013|America, Blog, Harlan Ullman, Regiuni, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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What next for syria–breakthrough, breakdown or botched opportunity?

The Obama administration is on the verge of botching an unprecedented opportunity. Prior to the remarkable joint U.S.-Russian initiative that established a process to dispose of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, the outlook for the region was grim.  The only certainty was continuing violence that will kill tens of thousands and displace many more hundreds of thousands of Syrians. President Barak Obama had double checkmated himself by declaring that Syrian President Bashar al Assad must stand down from office and then setting a “redline” around using chemical weapons.  Following the chemical attacks that killed some 1400 people on August 21st, Obama made two highly contradictory decisions.  First, the president vowed to [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:30+02:0018 octombrie 2013|Analize si studii, Blog, Harlan Ullman, Orientul Mijlociu, Pace & Securitate, Regiuni, Subiecte|0 Comentarii
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Rummy’s reclama–fixing a broken process

Don Rumsfeld is on tour touting his newest book: Rumsfeld’s Rules, a compilation of lessons accumulated over fifty years of public service.  Mr. Rumsfeld has the distinction of being both America’s youngest and oldest secretary of defense, presiding over three wars---winding down Vietnam and during the past decade, overseeing the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it is actually Rumsfeld’s previous book, Known and Unknowns---A Memoir that is more relevant regarding the state of American politics today. Towards the end of that book (and his time as George W. Bush’s secretary of defense), Rumsfeld forwarded a memo to the National Security Council calling for a commission to address what he [...]

By |2017-11-14T21:28:32+02:004 octombrie 2013|America, Analize si studii, Blog, Harlan Ullman, Regiuni|0 Comentarii
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