War has played a major role in human history, whether war is raging or not. During peace-time the military prepares for war, while society absorbs the cost. Some theories consider war to be an integral part of the essence of humankind while others consider war to be the result of specific economic or ecological conditions. Philosophers have wrestled with the concept of being “human” for centuries. Do we have an essence, a nature, which causes us to start wars and . . .
Category: Diplomacy
Sanctions: Blunderbuss Diplomacy
Sanctions are penalties applied to countries, organizations and individuals because of economic, political, military and social disagreements. Sanctions typically include trade barriers, tariffs and/or restricted access to money and are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), an agency of the US Treasury Department. The effectiveness of sanctions is debatable: In a report to the United Nations Sub-Commission on Human Rights in 2000, Marc Bossuyt suggests “these international economic sanctions are based on the assumption that economic pressure . . .
Next Move?
67 Years of US / Iran History 1953 Iran had a democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, who was concerned with the influence that Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP) had over Iranian oil reserves. A coup d’état was arranged by British Intelligence and Eisenhauer’s CIA. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was installed as monarch and ruled for the next 26 years until he was overthrown by the Iranian Revolution in 1979. 1979 The Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line stormed the US embassy . . .
Middle East Strategy?
Waiting for instructions from the kingdom Iran? We are “locked and loaded” waiting for the word from the “kingdom” for how to proceed after drone attacks on the Saudi oil fields. We dropped out of the Iran Nuclear Deal which apparently was working as intended. Now Iran is enhancing their nuclear skills and instigating trouble in response to US “maximum pressure”. The cruel and stupid civil war in Yemen which we support through our “friends” in the “kingdom” has been . . .
Real Damage
The buffoonery is obvious. Let’s recognize it, move on, and waste no more energy reacting to each embarrassing example of this behavior. Let’s focus on the damage to: The Planet Wage Earners The Economy Our Place in the World The Planet: The EPA Administrator is a former energy lobbyist whose biggest clients included Murray Energy Corporation and vigorously fought the Obama administration’s attempts to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen environmental and public health laws. Shortly after the current administration took . . .
Kill Chain?
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (the last of the trophy generals) reported to congress in 2018 that the U.S. is not involved in the “kill chain” in Yemen, but we are supplying the bombers, laser guided bombs, intelligence, and mid-air refueling to the Saudis and Emiratis who are involved. Is not being in the “kill chain” meant to assuage our sense of murderous guilt? Maybe , but this is little consolation to the thousands of innocent Yemeni . . .
New Tariff on Baseball Stars
Tariff Man Hits Cuban Ball Players! MLB and Cuban Federation Agreement The agreement reached between MLB and the Cuban Federation after three years of negotiation provided Cuban players a safe and legal path to playing professionally in the U.S. In the past some Cuban stars have risked life and limb making their way illegally to U.S. shores Agreement Cancelled The current administration has cancelled the deal because it was based on an “erroneous ruling” by the former Obama administration that . . .
World Affairs
Name calling, Tariffs and Sanctions seem to come from the same lizard brain region: lazy, blunt and harsh. Tariffs and Sanctions indicate a lack of effort and a failure to grasp the risks and opportunities. Drop Outs: in the past two years we have reneged on the following without better ideas – no plan B proposed! “Iran Nuclear Deal” (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.) The agreement was announced July 14, 2015 and withdrawn from on May 8, 2018. Under . . .
History Lessons
Troika of Tyranny? Cuba Nicaragua Venezuela Our perpetually angry National Security Advisor introduced us to this catchy new phrase “Troika of Tyranny” in a speech November 1, 2018 in Miami with the clever Russian reference and reminiscent of the “Axis of Evil” from the good old days. Lessons learned and forgotten Cuba: As Nicholas Kristof put it in the NYT: “… is neither the demonic tyranny conjured by some conservatives nor the heroic worker paradise romanticized by some on the . . .
Our Friends?
It is good to have friends but sometimes you need to tell them the truth, if for example, they have used poor judgment or are exhibiting destructive behavior. Now might be the time! Nigerian Army killing protestors: Firing directly into an unarmed crowd at close range as they tried to flee. President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to control military abuse and restore security but has done very little since elected in 2015. In fact, the military has detained children, raped . . .