War on the Rocks
In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, Thomas Schwartz of Vanderbilt University, discusses his book, Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography. Few figures in American history are as controversial or divisive as Henry Kissinger. Schwartz argues that Kissinger, while mostly associated with international diplomacy and international affairs, is best understood by understanding him as a domestic political figure whose moves were calculated based...
Mazal Mualem, Al Monitor
For several weeks now, the ruling Likud party led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been stagnating in the polls. Although the Likud is still by far the biggest party with the widest lead in the polls, and the public persistently pegs Netanyahu as the candidate best suited to be prime minister, his victory in the March 23 elections is far from assured.
Con Coughlin, The National
If US President Joe Biden is really serious about bringing Yemen's appalling civil war to an end, then his administration needs to act more robustly than the measures it has taken so far in terms of curbing the malign involvement of Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in the conflict.
Brent Sadler, National Interest
The U.S. government has been trying to secure strategic materials by categorizing them as protected from foreign predatory practices, expanding domestic production, and strategic stockpiling.
Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times
In his first weeks as president Joe Biden has been focused on the Covid-19 vaccine rollout and trying to pass a $1.9tn stimulus package. But he has been eager to deliver another central message — when it comes to China, he will not be a pushover.
M. Hicks, K. Atwell & D. Collini, FA
The United States Needs to Think Regionally to Win
Tom Rogan, Examiner
The question arises in light of new sanctions introduced against Russia on Tuesday, in response to its August 2020 chemical weapons attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Those sanctioned include three German companies, now added to the U.S. government's so-called "Entity List." Those on the "Entity List" face increased restrictions or even bans from U.S. exports. The newly proscribed German companies,...
George Friedman, Geopolitical Futures
The Iranian government has announced that it will not attend the first round of negotiations over restoring the agreement that limited its ability to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran says sanctions imposed by the administration of former President Donald Trump must first be removed for talks to begin.
Laurenz Gehrke, Politico EU
MUNICH — The coronavirus pandemic has politicians across the Continent scrambling for survival, but in Germany the crisis has given a party many had left for dead a new lease on life.
Nkasi Wodu, Council on Foreign Relations
The Nigerian minister of defense recently enjoined Nigerians to take up arms to defend themselves against marauding bandits in their communities. The minister's statement aligns with the grim reality that Nigeria has a serious internal security problem—and nobody knows exactly how to solve it.
Hal Brands, Bloomberg
As goes Germany, so goes Europe — and that's a real challenge for the U.S. During the Cold War, West Germany was America's crucial European ally. Today, Berlin leads a European bloc that could cast a geopolitical swing vote in the U.S.-China rivalry.
Stepan Goncharov, Riddle
January marked an escalation between the state and its opposition in Russia. On January 17, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow from Berlin. He was duly arrested. Two days later, his team published the documentary film, "Putin's Palace," which gathered more than 113 million views. The film investigated the construction of a mansion on the Black Sea. The most substantial unsanctioned protests of the past few years followed on January 23 and 31....
Pamela Starr, Fin. Times
President's policies fatally undermine the oil and electricity companies he needs for funds
Kourosh Ziabari, Asia Times
Iranian president vowed to win the release of Green Movement reformists but 11 years later they're all still under house arrest
Nicholas Grossman, Arc
With Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, the new president proves neither warmonger nor dove
Brauss, Hodges & Lindley-French, CEPA
Security of mobility was a central theme in this high-end scenario on NATO's eastern flank. Procedures for the military's use of infrastructure have not been updated since the Cold War. Such modernization will be critical during an emergency to avoid the dangerous slowing of military mobility as it transitions from disembarkation at port to multimode transport systems. This scenario highlighted the vital need to test coordination and deconfliction... Читать дальше...
Max Hastings, Times of London
ne of Winston Churchill's best figures of speech was that of the three-inch pipe. Discussing public supineness in the face of a surfeit of wartime horrors, he observed that human beings, like a water pipe in a culvert, can absorb only just so much. When a thunderstorm brings a torrent, the surplus flows over the top.
Nikolas Gvosdev, Russia Matters
The Biden administration has announced sanctions on Russian officials and entities in response to the poisoning and then arrest of Alexei Navalny. In so doing, administration officials have noted that this the first wave of U.S. responses to perceived Russian malign activity, with further measures likely to be announced in coming weeks. At the same time, the Biden team, while making clear that there...
