Harlan Ullman.

Rummy’s reclama—fixing a broken process
Rummy’s reclama—fixing a broken process

America, Blogs, Harlan Ullman., Regions, Studies and Analysis

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 Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:32+02:00October 4th, 2013|America, Blogs, Harlan Ullman., Regions, Studies and Analysis|0 Comments

The fall of our discontent
The fall of our discontent

Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, International Studies, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions, Studies and Analysis

The fall of our discontent

On this anniversary of the attacks that leveled the Twin Towers in New York and part of the Pentagon a dozen years ago, a long, hot and wet summer in Washington, D.C. risks metastasizing into a Fall of Discontent. Syria is the most incandescent and looming issue underscored by President Barack Obama’s speech last night. But Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and other ticking time bombs have not been defused. And world economies remain fragile and emerging markets in flux. Any strike against Syria has the potential to ignite broader regional conflict. Oil prices would be affected in the extreme with obvious economic consequences that will extend to China and the Pacific. [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:33+02:00September 12th, 2013|Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, International Studies, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions, Studies and Analysis|0 Comments

A queen of heart’s advice for Syria
A queen of heart’s advice for Syria

Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions

A queen of heart’s advice for Syria

Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland offers a relevant insight into how to respond or not to chemical weapons attacks two weeks ago outside Damascus that claimed nearly 1500 lives. “Sentence before verdict,” thundered the Queen of Hearts as Alice watched. For much of last week, a punitive military strike seemed imminent before a verdict had been rendered. But the queen also cried “off with their heads!” Evidence mounts that Bashar al Assad’s regime used Sarin filled missiles. Yet, the gross misrepresentations over Saddam Hussein’s non-existent arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) a dozen years ago are not forgotten and many demand proof beyond a reasonable doubt if force is [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:33+02:00September 3rd, 2013|Blogs, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions|0 Comments

Egyptian and arab democracy uber alles?
Egyptian and arab democracy uber alles?

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

Egyptian and arab democracy uber alles?

Insanity has been described as constantly repeating the same mistake and expecting a different outcome. That characterization sadly applies to American attitudes and policies towards much of what is happening in Egypt and the Arab and Islamic worlds. We have been there before often supporting what is mistakenly regarded as the triumph of some sort of democratic movement over a failing regime that ultimately proves highly destructive to U.S. interests. Remember that German elections led to the appointment of Hitler as chancellor in 1933 and how that turned out. Fidel Castro was the freedom fighter battling the corrupt Batista Government in Cuba more than a half-century ago. And when the [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:28:34+02:00August 29th, 2013|Blogs, Democracy & Human Rights, Harlan Ullman., Issues|0 Comments

No easy fixes for NATO
No easy fixes for NATO

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

No easy fixes for NATO

To paraphrase Shakespeare: Alas poor NATO. We knew it well. My second column for 2013 bemoaned the absence of even the mention of NATO--the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--- in the strategic dialogue that accompanied the start of President Barack Obama’s second term. Founded in Washington in April 1949 as a counterweight to the emergence of a hostile Soviet Union, NATO became the most successful military alliance in history. Clearly, the strategic “pivot” to Asia announced last year by the White House had overshadowed and eclipsed the importance of Europe. And, today’s violence in Egypt and Syria as well as the ongoing chaos in Iraq, Afghanistan with Iran’s nuclear ambitions still [...]