Harlan Ullman.

INSIDE THE LOOKING GLASS: THE RACE FOR THE U.S. PRESIDENCY

Certainly on the Republican side, the presidential race has crashed through the looking glass into Alice’s Wonderland replete with Mad Hatters and tea parties. The Republican debate last Thursday reaffirmed this condition, dare we say in spades. Three of the candidates are incredulous and most likely unelectable. The fourth was the only adult on the stage and hence unlikely to win the nomination. How America got to this point is useful in informing how we extricate ourselves from the grim electoral prospects that lie ahead especially if the leading Democratic candidate is indicted for mishandling classified material on private e-mail accounts. Only in America…. Donald Trump is, at [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:27:38+02:00March 7th, 2016|Blogs, Harlan Ullman.|0 Comments

USA — the Unconscious Stupidity of America?

A country is at great risk when the irrational overtakes and becomes the surrogate for the rational. And a country is at graver risk when the public succumbs to a willing suspension of disbelief in this free fall descent into irrationality. Yet, this could be the state of American politics and governance today---a condition that eludes adequate description by the English language and the current vocabulary. Regarding the presidential campaigns, some argue that the anger and resentment of many Americans towards the failures of government have created the means for irrationality to reign. One of the candidates has concluded that the “stupidity” of government is the root cause of [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:27:38+02:00March 3rd, 2016|Blogs, Harlan Ullman.|0 Comments

Syria 2015 – Spain 1938 OR Sarajevo June 1914?
Syria 2015 – Spain 1938 OR Sarajevo June 1914?

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

Syria 2015 – Spain 1938 OR Sarajevo June 1914?

Windsor Castle, London: Russia’s military intervention in Syria has opened a Pandora’s box of potential crises and frightening scenarios as well as hinting at the slimmest glimmer of an opportunity. Backing Bashar al Assad along with Shia Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin has, knowingly or not, declared a de facto war against the Sunnis. Certainly Saudi Arabia thinks so. Many Saudi clerics have issued fatwas targeting Russia for Jihad. Russia’s Syrian military deployment is relatively modest. Several dozens of fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, a small naval armada in the Mediterranean led by a three and a half decades old cruiser and 2000 ground forces supported by anti-air and other defensive [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:27:42+02:00October 25th, 2015|Blogs, Global Governance, Harlan Ullman., International Peace, & Security, Issues, Orientul Mijlociu, Regions|0 Comments

If politics followed golf. . . . . . .
If politics followed golf. . . . . . .

America, Blogs, Harlan Ullman., Regions

If politics followed golf. . . . . . .

Earlier this month, two television spectaculars entertained tens of millions of viewers. One was political, the Republican Party’s maiden debate in the presidential sweepstakes limited to only “natural born” U.S. citizens (Ted Cruz hopefully is listening.) The other was the PGA Championship, one of golf’s annual four major tournaments with an international field of world-class players. The GOP debate was a two-course delight in which showmanship dominated substance. The hors d’oeuvres kicked off in quiet, pre prime time featuring seven candidates who lacked sufficient poll numbers to make it to the main event. The top ten, too, were relatively unknowns except for Jeb Bush who was trying for the “hat [...]

By Harlan Ullman|2017-11-14T21:27:42+02:00October 25th, 2015|America, Blogs, Harlan Ullman., Regions|0 Comments

Barack Obama, a fantastical strategist?
Barack Obama, a fantastical strategist?

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

Barack Obama, a fantastical strategist?

To take Martin Luther King wildly out of context: I too have a fantasy. Suppose it is President Barack Obama and not Russian President Vladimir Putin who is the cleverer strategist. Suppose Mr. Obama cunningly set a trap in Syria for President Putin that either will lead to a negotiated political settlement or embroil Moscow in a Syrian quagmire? Or is this a dream run amuck in that there is no way that a community organizer turned university law professor could have outwitted and outmaneuvered a former KGB spymaster? Last week was not a good one for either the United States or for President Obama. The annual UN General Assembly [...]