Just about the time we get the economy under control, someone from another country (who is in trouble) convinces Trump we need to attack a different country. Some how, the deal maker is always suckered in. The nation is going to pay for it in the long haul. Taken from Newsweek.”Inflation Jumps to Highest Level.. […]
When I was growing up, my dad (who was nominally Jewish) told me that our family name was German and meant Iron Mountain. I only learned decades later that both of his parents were Jewish immigrants from Ukraine. At the time my paternal grandfather arrived in New York as a child, the name was spelled […]
Much is being made of the probable consequences of Trump’s Iran war for the US economy and the midterm elections. And “it’s the economy, stupid” still describes the dominant consideration in the minds of American voters. But to the extent that foreign policy affects the ballot box, the fact that Trump’s invasion is a proxy […]
In its latest attack on Iran, Israel has resorted to bombing and assassination to convince Iran to capitulate on its nuclear program*. What’s the track record of success for bombing and assassination campaigns? Bombing “Unless an enemy army takes Tehran, as the US military took Baghdad in 2003, this four-branch government cannot be gotten rid […]
Israel is on a dangerously self-destructive course. The brutality of the Gaza campaign is antagonizing allies and making it difficult for regional players to continue normalizing relations. The prospects for a durable peace are dimming at the same time that the policy of military supremacy that provided a modicum of security over the past two […]
Some thoughts on recent developments . . . Elite persuasion and its limits News reports suggest that President Biden got Speaker Mike Johnson to put a Ukraine aid bill on the floor of the House through good, old-fashioned persuasion: Biden and his team convinced Johnson it was the right thing to do by sharing intelligence […]
The useful content of this post on a topic where I have no expertise is this link to a Twitter thread by Gen Mark Hertling (retired) who has a whole lot of expertise and is also very smart and reasonable. The thread is brief. I suggest reading it. I also quote one tweet here: “There […]
It is easy to think that those of us who favor a two-state solution are utopian dreamers. The mantle of realism seems to rest naturally on those who insist on standing tough against a Palestinian state. But this simple dichotomy has never been accurate, and the realist case for a renewed effort to achieve a […]
For the past few days I have been wondering if Netanyahu has a plan for responding to the Hamas terror killings, or if he’s just temporizing. More and more, it seems like he is just skating in front of the breaking ice. If this is right, it’s one more misdeed for which he and his […]
Israel Pays For Bibi’s Successful Campaign Against The JCPOA Iran Nuclear Agreement In the last few days for the first time in many years, northern Israel has been on the receiving end of rockets fired out of southern Lebanon, the territory under the control of the Shia Hezbollah group long supported by Iranian interests, although […]