On August 31, President Joe Biden formally drew to a close the war in Afghanistan, touting “the extraordinary success” of the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of fighting. Despite the incorrect “assumption — that the Afghan government would be able to hold on for a period of time...
The raging debate around abortion rights in the United States has recently been reignited when Texas passed a law banning all abortions past the detection of a fetal heartbeat, usually at a six-week mark. The issue gained further traction after the Supreme Court failed to block the...
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House, has committed to the strategy recommended by the progressive wing of her party to force through President Joe Biden’s proposed $3.5-trillion spending plan for infrastructure. It covers much more than the basic $1.5-trillion nuts-and-bolts...
The grave humanitarian situation in Afghanistan is one thing. It speaks for itself. What is not spoken about are the implications it carries for Americans. The one element that is crucially being (publicly) ignored by the US government and the US media is that former employees and contractors of...
The European Union received a serious shock last week that confirmed the seismic shock it received a month ago when US President Joe Biden made good on his decision to unilaterally abandon the 20-year NATO military campaign in Afghanistan. France had a more specific reason to complain. As AP...
Earlier this month, Americans and people around the world commemorated a day that still resonates with disbelief, astonishment and profound sorrow. We don’t know how the world will look at the events of 9/11 in 100 years. But, after 20 years, the heaviness persists and the portents remain still...
US Foreign policy has long been more about the evocative vocabulary used to describe it than the geopolitical reality it is meant to address. The vocabulary politicians and the media use to define foreign policy belongs to a tissue of artificially generated illusions that serve not so much to...
The far right would like to impeach Joe Biden, kick him out of the White House, perhaps even throw him in jail. “Lock him up” has been a predictable chant at Trump rallies going back to before the 2020 election. Even Republicans in Congress have joined this chorus. Bipartisanship? As...
The war in Afghanistan is over, but the commentary on what it was all about and where it leaves us is just beginning. The events that have unfolded over the past few weeks have predictably generated a plethora of credible and less credible theses that continue to appear in every serious...
The Second World War ruined our concept of conflict. It led us to believe that conflicts are wars, and wars consist of two sides fighting, with a singular monolithic outcome that one side wins. Everyone comes home. There is a parade. A sailor kisses a woman. Boom. War won. This is a myth of...
The end of the US engagement in Afghanistan has produced a moment of reckoning for the nation. Everything to do with that war will inevitably be reviewed by commentators. Its origins in the 9/11 attacks of 2001 are already the focus of everyone’s attention. So is its crucial role as the intended...
