US Opinion and Commentary

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Israel Between Obama and Trump

Posted December 29th, 2016 at 3:20 pm (UTC-4)
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Acknowledging that United States policy will likely change on January 20, Secretary of State John Kerry nonetheless delivered an emphatic defense of the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from a vote on a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policy.

In a speech Wednesday at the State Department, Kerry said the U.S. declined to exercise its veto because it “cannot, in good conscience, do nothing, and say nothing, when we see the hope of peace slipping away,” referring to Israel’s expansion of West Bank settlements and their impact on a “two-state solution.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Kerry’s speech “disappointing” and said “Israel looks forward to working with president-elect (Donald) Trump” to repeal the resolution.

Trump and Netanyahu traded tweets of support ahead of Kerry’s speech, leaving little doubt that a new chapter in U.S. relations with Israel and the Middle East is about to be written.

Bring Back Balanced Power to Washington

Posted December 28th, 2016 at 11:26 am (UTC-4)
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The American people want their power back. The American people no longer trust their government….They’re tired of watching a money-gobbling, D.C. machine crank out policies that don’t work, don’t help, and don’t line up with what the Constitution says the federal government should and should not be doing.  

Thanks to No Drama Obama, American Leadership Is Gone

Posted December 27th, 2016 at 11:09 am (UTC-4)
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If Dec. 7, 1941, is the day that Franklin D. Roosevelt said “will live in infamy,” then Dec. 20, 2016, has got to be a close second….Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Moscow to settle matters in the Middle East. The United States wasn’t even asked to the meeting.

We Have a Stake in Syria, Yet We Have Done Nothing

Posted December 23rd, 2016 at 11:47 am (UTC-4)
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As with past atrocities, Aleppo’s destruction inspired much high-minded talk and the illusion of action. Endless meetings in the gilded palaces of Geneva and Vienna and elsewhere. Red lines drawn and transgressed with no consequences….the name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame.

We Need a Cuba Policy that Truly Serves the Cuban People

Posted December 21st, 2016 at 11:53 am (UTC-4)
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Clearly, changes are coming to U.S.-Cuba policy under Trump. But what to replace Obama’s policy with? [N]o one argues for a return to the status quo ante. [T]he President-elect’s new team should seize the opportunity to bring energy and creativity to truly empowering the Cuban people to reclaim their right to decide their own destiny.

Stop the Hand-Wringing About Aleppo

Posted December 20th, 2016 at 3:20 pm (UTC-4)
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If there is a lesson for the West from the post-Cold War era of liberal interventionism, it is this: Either intervene decisively and be invested for the long term — or stay out.

The End of the Iran Deal?

Posted December 8th, 2016 at 1:24 pm (UTC-4)
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[W]ithin a year of its implementation, the hope that the nuclear pact could usher in a new era of relations with Iran appears to be defunct. The only remaining question is whether the agreement will survive at all…

Castro’s Legacy

Posted November 28th, 2016 at 4:33 pm (UTC-4)
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Fidel Castro’s death at age 90 Friday was a moment for millions of Cuban Americans to both celebrate and mourn. Celebrate because the brutal dictator they and their families fled from had finally died; mourn family members who could not wait out Castro’s life in hopes of returning to their homeland.

Whether it was cozying up to the Soviet Union, backing Angolan leftists or exporting his revolution to Venezuela and other Latin American countries, Castro influenced United States policy for more than 60 years. The economic embargo imposed by President John Kennedy in 1962 is still in place today. Cuban migrants get preferential treatment if they make it to the United States.

President Barack Obama visited Cuba earlier this year, marking the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries. President-elect Donald Trump warns that could be reversed if Cuba doesn’t make progress on human rights and release political prisoners and fugitives from U.S. law.

Although Castro transferred power to his brother Raúl in 2006, Fidel was still a larger-than-life influence. Now that his life is over, how will generations of Cubans who knew no other leader go forward?

Cuba Shows Fallacy of Sanctions, Regime Change

Posted November 28th, 2016 at 10:47 am (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin Friday’s death of the world’s last revolutionary icon, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, offers important foreign policy lessons to the incoming administration of Donald Trump. For nearly 60 years, U.S. administrations struggled to overturn, contain or convert the bearded strongman and export a more democratic, capitalist form of government to the island nation of […]

U.S. Foreign Policy Under Donald Trump

Posted November 16th, 2016 at 4:10 pm (UTC-4)
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Before handing the keys to the White House to Donald Trump, Barack Obama is taking a final, presidential lap around the world.

Obama started his three country trip in the birthplace of democracy, Greece. Then it’s on to Berlin to thank Chancellor Angela Merkel for her support during his term. The pair will also meet with the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy and Spain. Afterward, Obama flies to Peru for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

In each stop, American allies, and perhaps some foes, will seek reassurance from Obama about the future under a Trump presidency.

With names like former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, Senate Foreign Relations chairman Bob Corker and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley floated as possible choices for Trump’s Secretary of State, there is no shortage of foreign policy speculation and suggestions.

Is the Philippines Triggering a ‘Duterte Effect’ in ASEAN?

Posted November 3rd, 2016 at 11:13 am (UTC-4)
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[S]uggesting that Duterte’s embrace of China and snubbing of the United States might trigger some sort of domino effect in the region not only fundamentally misunderstands what drives alignments in Southeast Asia, but grossly exaggerates the Philippines’ status within the region and overestimates Duterte’s foreign policy.

Rigging the Election?

Posted October 18th, 2016 at 4:51 pm (UTC-4)
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Two bedrock principles of United States elections that makes American democracy a model others try to emulate are “one man (person), one vote and the peaceful handover of power.

Donald Trump is sowing seeds of doubt in both by claiming the election is “rigged” during campaign appearances, interviews and on social media.

The last close election in 2000 ended with Al Gore winning the popular vote, but losing the state of Florida when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of George W. Bush in a disputed recount of votes. Gore conceded in the name of national unity.

Trump’s unsubstantiated claims are being called dangerous, undermining and flat out wrong by his opponents and some Republicans. But Trump supporters point to various holes in laws and enforcement of laws that can open the door to voter fraud, and say they will be watching the polls on November 8.

President Obama Says We’re Going to Mars. If Only It Were That Easy

Posted October 11th, 2016 at 12:53 pm (UTC-4)
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[P]rivate companies have always been the space program’s manufacturing backbone….What was different then was that those contracts were essentially work made to order—like planning precisely the house you want and hiring an architect to build it for you. Now it’s more like buying into a development:

America Will Take the Giant Leap to Mars

Posted October 11th, 2016 at 9:34 am (UTC-4)
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We have set a clear goal vital to the next chapter of America’s story in space: sending humans to Mars by the 2030s and returning them safely to Earth, with the ultimate ambition to one day remain there for an extended time.

The Russian Relationship

Posted October 6th, 2016 at 2:14 pm (UTC-4)
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Relations between the United States and Russia have reached another low point as Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday Moscow was pulling out of a nuclear security treaty, and then issued a list of conditions in which he would reconsider.

The deal, which dates back to the year 2000, involves the disposal of plutonium stockpiles, which can be used for nuclear weapons. It could signal Russia’s intent to withdraw from other nuclear weapons treaties with the U.S.

On the surface, the conditions on which Russia would reconsider appear unpalatable: lifting economic sanctions related to Russia’s incursion into Ukraine; compensation for those sanctions; reducing NATO’s footprint in Eastern Europe.

The U.S. announced Monday it is shutting off talks with Russia over Syria because of violations of the ceasefire, including suspected Russian bombing of an aid convoy last week. Some fear the U.S. pullback from talks will give Russia a free hand to execute its military plans in Syria. Others say it may leave Russia with no exit strategy.

No matter how this plays out, finding a solution will most likely be left to the next president of the United States.