Donald Trump may be doing his best to make life miserable for Republicans, but that doesn’t mean that Hillary Clinton has had an easy time of it recently. Quite the contrary; her campaign has been busy blundering from one disaster to the next. And now, Democrats–who must be watching the Clinton campaign with a sense of horror, and must be wondering whether Clinton learned anything from her 2008 presidential run–are beginning to look towards alternatives to Her Inevitableness.
Pejman Yousefzadeh
Pejman Yousefzadeh
Scribbling, scribbling, scribbling on the Internet.
Tagged John Kerry
More Reasons to Dislike the Nuclear Deal with Iran
My desperate attempt to convince myself that the nuclear deal with Iran is a good one is–I am sorry to report–in the process of failing miserably. I wish that I could report otherwise, but alas, those accursed facts keep getting in the way, and keep me from liking this deal. Oh, don’t think that I will give up on my effort to feel optimistic that the nuclear agreement with Iran is a triumph of American diplomacy. I am not a quitter, after all. But stubborn as I am, and as much as I would like to persevere in my effort…
We Finally Have a Strategy to Deal with ISIL
It involves . . . well . . . um . . . let me give the microphone to the secretary of state: John Kerry suggested today that the task of defeating the Islamic State could fall to Iran and the Syrian government if the US was “failing miserably” in its effort to defeat the jihadists. The hypothetical scenario raised by the secretary of state is likely to be a new frustration for the White House, which has spent the day quashing speculation by American generals that US ground troops could be sent back to Iraq. Mr Kerry’s words may…
In Which I Have a Very Bad Feeling about Our Newest Intervention in Iraq
Back when George W. Bush was president and launched the war against Iraq, he got accused by everyone under the sun of having failed to listen to the advice of his generals. Implicit in the criticisms, of course, was the suggestion that after the Bushian Era of Darkness, no Democratic president–and especially no president who was a prominent critic of George W. Bush and his administration–would make the same mistake. With that basic history in mind, read this: . . Responding to a White House request for options to confront the Islamic State, Gen. Lloyd Austin, the top commander of…
The New, New Iraq War
Yesterday was September 10, 2014, and to mark the occasion, the president of the United States decided to give a speech that had a September 10, 2001 mindset about it. I suppose that I could take the time to fisk it (hey, remember fisking?), but I’m rather lazy this evening, and frankly, what is the point? If you want to see my realtime reaction, check my Twitter feed (start with this tweet, and end with this one). Basically, my concerns boil down to the following: There is no definition of “victory.” There is no way on this or any other…
Lots of Israel-Related Links to Go Through
So let’s go through them. 1. In non-shocking news, a serious amount of anti-Semitism actually does exist in the West: The mob howled for vengeance, the missiles raining down on the synagogue walls as the worshippers huddled inside. It was a scene from Europe in the 1930s – except this was eastern Paris on the evening of July 13th, 2014. Thousands had gathered to demonstrate against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But the protest soon turned violent – and against Jews in general. One of those trapped told Israeli television that the streets outside were “like an intifada”, the Palestinian uprising…
When Even the New York Times Editorial Board Pans an Obama Speech . . .
Boy, I guess that foreign policy address given yesterday really didn’t go over well: President Obama and his aides heralded his commencement speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday as a big moment, when he would lay out his foreign policy vision for the remainder of his term and refute his critics. The address did not match the hype, was largely uninspiring, lacked strategic sweep and is unlikely to quiet his detractors, on the right or the left. [. . .] In his speech, Mr. Obama tried to push back against critics who say he has…
The Obama Doctrine and How It Is Lacking
President Obama offered his foreign policy vision at West Point today. David Rothkopf finds a great deal to dislike about it (the critique is long and thorough, so I wouldn’t do justice to it by excerpting; you should just read the whole thing). Additionally Admiral James Stavridis points out that for all of the talk about cooperation and partnership in the crafting and implementation of foreign policy, the president’s speech left out two vital components of how we can best create security: the power of interagency cooperation, and — above all — private-public partnerships. As we approach deeply challenging situations in Afghanistan,…
In Ukraine, Tensions Remain High
I haven’t been blogging for the past two days because I have been laid low by The Worst Cold In The History Of Ever. Any hopes that in the time that it took me to recover, the Ukraine crisis could be resolved, seem to have gone out the window. Ukraine remains worried that Russia may launch an invasion of eastern Ukraine. The Obama administration shares those concerns. So, that’s hardly comforting. Demonstrations have begun, agitating for secession on the part of eastern Ukraine. I’d be very much surprised if these demonstrations were anything more than astroturf operations that the Russians have…
Quote of the Day
I’m a citizen of Ukraine. I don’t want to be a citizen of another country, or of Russia. It’s well known what it’s like to live in Russia. There’s absolutely no civil society whatsoever. You can’t say what you want. People can’t gather for demonstrations unless it’s good for the government. —Andrei Voloshin. You won’t be surprised to find out that the situation between Ukraine and Russia is getting worse.
