Foreign Policy: All Articles and Books

NATO, R.I.P.

Articles — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 02:52:00 -0400

In what might be described as a quest for coherence through commodification, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has hired a former Coca-Cola executive to foster greater understanding about its reason for being.[1] But can an alliance emulate a soft drink giant's success at reinvention? Not likely. Coke has been creative--though not always successful--in its self-presentation, but no one has ever doubted what it is: a beverage. NATO's problem is that its purpose is no longer clear, even to its own members. In several key NATO states, few people know what the alliance does, let alone how it serves their interests. And who can blame them?… more

US Incursions Might Well Destabilize Pakistani Society

Articles — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:08:00 -0400

Forty years ago, the United States began to mount raids into Cambodia and to undermine the government of King Sihanouk in order to cut Vietcong supply lines. As a result, America's war with Vietnamese communism spread into Cambodia, leading to the triumph of the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide. But these horrors occurred after the US itself had quit Vietnam and after the US-backed regime in South Vietnam had collapsed. Washington's widening of the war benefited neither America nor its local allies.

The US is now making the same mistake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If continued, ground incursions by US troops across the border into Pakistan in search of the Taliban… more

Why the US, Europe and China Need a 'G-3'

Articles — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:12:00 -0400

These days it is not fashionable to speak of empires, which are considered to be aggressive, mercantilist relics supposedly consigned to the dustbin of history with post-World War II decolonization and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many then predicted that ethnic self-determination would drag the world into a new era of political fragmentation as the number of countries proliferated from fewer than 50 at the end of World War II to, potentially, hundreds in the 21st century, with every minority getting its own state, currency, and seat in the United Nations.

But for thousands of years empires have been the world's most powerful political entities, fulfilling people's… more

Ten National Security Myths

Articles — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:56:00 -0400

The Iraq War is a testament to the great damage a foreign policy based on myths, lies and distortions can do to our nation’s security and well-being. As the election draws near, a new set of myths and fallacies as misleading as those that led the Senate to support George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq have become embedded in our foreign policy discourse. Many of them are being perpetuated by the very same political forces that peddled the myth of mushroom clouds coming from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Others are the product of muddled thinking on the part of both Republicans and Democrats.

If left unchallenged, these myths… more

An Alternative to Paralysis

Articles — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:43:00 -0400

If Tzipi Livni becomes Israel's next prime minister, she will bring to that office a belief in the urgency of reaching an extensive, two-state solution with the Palestinians. This in itself distinguishes Livni from her two main rivals. Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu disputes the very framework of two viable, independent states, while Labor leader Ehud Barak parts ways on how pressing the need is to get there. Livni will inherit the Annapolis peace process -- and that is where her problems begin. Annapolis is constructed on a flawed logical edifice; it is broken. But because Livni is heavily invested in these latest peace talks, she may… more

Heeding the Lessons of Another War

Articles — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:02:00 -0400

Forty years ago, the United States began to mount raids into Cambodia and to undermine the government of King Sihanouk in order to cut Vietcong supply lines.

As a result, America's war with Vietnamese Communism spread into Cambodia, leading to the triumph of the Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide. But these horrors occurred after the U.S. itself had quit Vietnam and after the U.S.-backed regime in South Vietnam had collapsed. Washington's widening of the war benefited neither America nor its local allies.

The U.S. is now making the same mistake in Afghanistan and Pakistan. If continued, ground incursions by U.S. troops across the border into Pakistan in search of the Taliban and Al Qaeda risk… more

Debate Skipped Key Iran-Israel Question

Articles — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:28:00 -0400

Toward the end of Friday's presidential debate, the conversation turned to Iran and there was a long back-and-forth between the two candidates about what kind of conditions should be set for any discussions with the Iranian government.

But neither addressed what could be the most important foreign policy issue either might face as president: a unilateral strike by Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Israeli officials are clearly seriously contemplating such a strike, as Iran is believed to be drawing near to having a nuclear capability that those officials believe poses an existential threat to Israel.

Such a strike would probably immensely complicate U.S. efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan as the Iranians would… more

We Run the Road

Articles — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:06:00 -0400

On May 12, a few days after street fighting erupted in Beirut, I drove to Majd al Anjar, a Sunni stronghold in Lebanon’s Bekaa, close to the Syrian border, where gunmen were still blocking the motorway from Beirut to Damascus. At the edge of town, several hundred men with automatic rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers, pistols and hand grenades stood before earthen barriers and fires. Some wore masks. There was nobody in command – this was a mob, not a militia. The men were angry, afraid, suspicious, shouting at strangers and each other, each one an authority unto himself, carelessly swinging weapons around, oblivious to… more

The New Face of Israel?

Articles — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:16:00 -0400

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert handed in his resignation. Israel’s Foreign Minister and the newly elected leader of the Kadima party, Tzipi Livni, has now been formally given the mandate by Israeli President Shimon Peres to build a governing coalition and thereby become prime minister. Olmert has faced ongoing corruption investigations, but the cloudy circumstances did not prevent him from leaving on a playful note. In convening the cabinet to inform them of his resignation, Olmert explained that there were a number of items on the agenda, and proceeded to give a rosy update on a series of Israeli weekend sporting successes--in the Para-Olympics, Davis Cup… more

A Man, A Plan, Afghanistan

Articles — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:11:00 -0400

In late May, some 40 Pakistani journalists received a summons to an unusual press conference given by Baitullah Mehsud, the rarely photographed leader of the Pakistani Taliban, who is accused of orchestrating the 2007 assassination of Benazir Bhutto, of sending suicide bombers to Spain earlier this year, and of dispatching an army of fighters into Afghanistan to attack U. S. and NATO forces in recent months. Surrounded by a posse of heavily armed Taliban guards, Mehsud boasted that he had hundreds of trained suicide bombers ready for martyrdom.

It was an extraordinarily brazen public performance for a man who is supposedly on the run. The conference wasn't in a… more

China's Robber-Baron Ways

Articles — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0400

Only a short time after China's magnificent Olympic coming-out party, the land of Mao's successors found itself making less celebratory news.

"Tainted Milk Formula Sickens Thousands of Chinese Infants" read one of many recent headlines. Twenty-two companies that produce or distribute milk powder had been secretly adding melamine, normally used for making plastics and glue, into milk powder, making thousands of infants sick and causing several deaths.

It is one of the puzzling questions about China: How can a country that organized such a splendid Olympic splash be the same country that produces deadly food scares on a regular basis?

The answer says a lot about today's China. In its March to modernity, Beijing's… more

Bloodshed of Desperation Becomes the Real Threat to Pakistan

Articles — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:14:00 -0400

The attack on the Marriott hotel is a shocking blow to Pakistan. What is really frightening is that the security measures in place worked: the lorry was stopped by guards at the barrier outside. As I found during visits to the Marriott during my recent stay in Pakistan, they were vigilant and effective.

Against a tonne of explosives, however, there is not much that can be done – except to cordon off the entire neighbourhood. Most of the Western embassies and consulates in Pakistan are protected in this way, but the Marriott, like other international hotels, government buildings and media offices, is on a main road that cannot… more

United Moscow

Articles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:31:00 -0400

In the course of the Valdai conference in Russia from September 7–14 we met with President Dmitri Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and Deputy Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Nogovitsyn. There was no significant difference between them in what they said about Russian policy and Russian views. Nor have such differences appeared outside the conference.

Of course, it is possible that they exist in private and have so far been kept under wraps by strict discipline; but it is very important to note that there is no actual evidence for this. From the point of view of shaping… more

No Recession for Arms Sales

Articles — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:18:00 -0400

The CEO of a weapons manufacturer has plenty of chances to rub elbows with deputy secretaries of defense, officials from Homeland Security, retired military personnel, and the best and brightest of the defense establishment almost any week of the year.

One such opportunity occurred at the ComDef 2008 conference, which wrapped up at the National Press Club in Washington on September 3. Sponsored by weapons giants like Boeing, Raytheon, and BAE Systems, the day-long conference was organized around the theme of "Defense Priorities in an Age of Persistent Conflict." It featured presentations from a Navy undersecretary, a deputy director at the Pentagon, several weapons manufacturers, and defense representatives… more

Cuba's October Surprise

Articles — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:55:00 -0400

If you live in Galveston, Texas, Hurricane Ike will be remembered for its destruction. But history may remember the ninth named storm of the 2008 season for swinging the 2008 presidential campaign.

That's because Ike devastated a little island off Florida named Cuba. In fact, Cuba sustained damage from four hurricanes: Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. Gustav hit the Western end of Cuba as a Category 4 storm. Ike entered the east of Cuba as a strong Category 3 then shredded the full length of the island for three days. There were reports of walls of water 50 feet high hitting the north shore.

In a country of more than 11 million… more

Gracious Grozny

Articles — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:53:00 -0400

In a way, Chechnya, which we visited in the course of the Valdai Club discussions in Russia last week, can stand as a more savage version of the Putin era in Russia as a whole: namely the successful restoration of order and progress, by methods which were often extremely ugly, but which may have been the only ones available under the circumstances.

Grozny, which I last saw as an immense heap of rubble, is now a truly impressive sight, with fine modern apartment blocks and a beautiful Turkish-built mosque, modeled on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, towering over the main square. Opposite, on the site of… more

Lunch with Putin

Articles — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 10:13:00 -0400

There were moments during the week I spent in Russia for the Valdai Discussion Club when I felt as if the world had begun to rotate backward. Chiefly, this was the result of having spent the previous six weeks in Pakistan, half of them based in Peshawar near the frontier with Afghanistan.

During my stay the bloody mayhem in Afghanistan continued unabated, with a French unit cut to pieces near Kabul. President Musharraf of Pakistan was forced to resign and was replaced by Asif Zardari, a man widely accused of corruption on a kleptocratic scale and hated by much of the country’s population. The Pakistani military began extensive… more

The Pentagon's Cubicle Mercenaries

Articles — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 04:40:00 -0400

Seven years into George W Bush's global "war on terror", the Pentagon is embroiled in two big wars, a potentially explosive war of words with Tehran, and numerous smaller conflicts -- and it is leaning ever more heavily on private military contractors to get by. Once upon a time, soldiers did more than pick up a gun. They picked up trash. They cut hair and delivered mail. They fixed airplanes and inflated truck tires. Not anymore. All of those tasks are now the responsibility of private military corporations. In the service of the Pentagon, their employees… more

These Are the New Middle Ages, Not a New Order

Articles — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:29:00 -0400

We are entering -- for those keeping track -- the new new, new new world order. President George Bush Snr's world order of multilateral cooperation was embarrassed by Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia. Pax Americana, rebranded as globalisation under Bill Clinton, was shattered by 9/11. For the past seven years we've been living under the "war on terror" world order paradigm, creating more cleavages than it has healed.

But this time the conditions are very different. The world has stopped waiting for the US - and its next president -- to declare its roadmap for the future. Instead, the other 96% of the planet has decided to move on… more

Does Killing Afghan Civilians Keep Us Safe?

Articles — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:18:00 -0400

This week, as we remember the nearly 3,000 American citizens who died in the rubble of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or in a remote field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, we also should think about the civilians who are still dying in Afghanistan. Consider, for instance, the recent American airstrikes on Azizabad, a village in western Afghanistan, on Aug. 22. The United Nations, Afghan government officials and independent witnesses all say that the United States killed about 90 civilians in these strikes, most of them women and children. Cellphone videos of the scene show motionless children lying under checkered shawls and veiled women shrieking alongside… more