U.S. officials love the idea of “soft power,” a concept that applies non-violent means from propaganda to culture to induce foreign countries to conform to Washington’s wishes. But the arrogance of the approach has alienated, rather than attracted, many people around…
Category: The Bush-43 Administration
When Israel/Neocons Favored Iran
Obama Buys False Iran Narrative
The Unreality of the Iran-Nuke Fight
Israel Clears the Bench in Iran Fight
The Dangers of European Dis-Union
The “European Project” is under unprecedented stress from fissures both east-and-west (over the Ukraine crisis) and north-and-south (over the Greek and refugee crises) and it’s unclear whether the Continent’s bureaucrats can keep the European Union from splintering apart, as Nat Parry explains.
Philippines’ Terror-Inducing ‘War on Terror’
Trump, McCain and ‘Chicken-hawk-ism’
The fury over Donald Trump’s slur against Sen. McCain’s time as a Vietnam War POW has obscured a larger point about “chicken-hawk-ism,” how U.S. political/media insiders hail the soldiers for “heroism” but send them into harm’s way with little appreciation of their sacrifice, writes ex-CIA analyst…
Iran Deal Dooms ‘Full-Spectrum Dominance’
The international agreement to ensure that Iran’s nuclear energy program stays peaceful is not just a victory for non-proliferation but part of a more realistic realignment of U.S. policy toward the Mideast, finally recognizing the bloody futility of “full-spectrum dominance,” writes…