Harlan Ullman, Author at Centrul de analiza si studii de securitate

America’s Achilles heart
America’s Achilles heart

America, Blogs, Democracy & Human Rights, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions

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 [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:14+02:00May 2nd, 2014|America, Blogs, Democracy & Human Rights, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions|0 Comments

The battle of the Mr. Cools
The battle of the Mr. Cools

Blogs, Europa/Rusia, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Regions

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 [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2014-05-02T11:12:56+03:00April 25th, 2014|Blogs, Europa/Rusia, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Regions|0 Comments

John Kerry’s determination
John Kerry’s determination

America, Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions

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 [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:15+02:00April 9th, 2014|America, Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., Issues, Regions|0 Comments

My fellow citizens
My fellow citizens

Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues

My fellow citizens

President Barack Obama gained great notoriety with brilliant speeches in Berlin during his first run for office and in Cairo after his 2008 election. Since then, like the absence of real strategic thinking by his administration regarding foreign policy, this great rhetoric has been missing in action. With Russia’s takeover of Crimea and the prospects for a new cold or at least cool war non-trivial, the time for a great speech is at hand. What might the president say? In summary terms, he might lay out a vision for the future. The central theme for this vision is what to do post-Crimea. In that regard, the president must focus [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:16+02:00April 6th, 2014|Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues|0 Comments

NATO’s strategic ace: Vladimir Putin
NATO’s strategic ace: Vladimir Putin

Blogs, Defense / Homeland Security, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Studies and Analysis

NATO’s strategic ace: Vladimir Putin

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was on the road to irrelevance. The most successful military alliance in history has lacked a real enemy since the Soviet Union disintegrated a quarter of a century ago. After a dozen years of war in Afghanistan, NATO’s role is coming to an ignominious end. Because of Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s refusal to sign a Basic Security Agreement (BSA), NATO is now forced to plan for the withdraw of all of its military forces by the end of 2014. Without substantial coalition forces and, as important, the money and aid Afghanistan receives because of that presence, the Karzai government will be unable to prevent [...]