Figuring out what Vladimir Putin is going to do next is understandably kind of a hot topic right now. I kind of got in on this act a couple of weeks ago when I first wrote that Crimea might be a flashpoint in the wake of Viktor Yanukovych's ouster, though to be totally honest I … Continue reading Burying the lede

About 10 days ago I wrote about the decision taken by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to withdraw their ambassadors from Qatar. Most of the coverage about this diplomatic row has focused on Qatar's patronage of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is part of the issue but, I suspect, less worrying for KSA … Continue reading Compulsory military service in the UAE: It’s not about the Muslim Brotherhood

Trying to navigate the array of neoconservative reactions to the ongoing talks with Iran gives me a headache. Several are very straightforward about wanting war, but it seems like many others are pretending to support sanctions and negotiations in theory, but their standards for a successful outcome range from unrealistic to outright impossible, leaving nothing … Continue reading The neocon endgame on Iran, new piece for Lobe Log

I've gotten a new piece published, this time at Foreign Policy in Focus, a foreign affairs thinktank affiliated with the Institute for Policy Studies. It looks at the many serious hindrances that still remain in reaching a full nuclear accord with Iran, but hopefully without being too pessimistic. A taste: Even if the P5+1 and … Continue reading The roadblocks to a comprehensive nuclear deal with Iran, my piece for Foreign Policy in Focus

This is just wonderful: Fox's Dana Perino snapped at co-host Bob Beckel, the show's token Democrat, after he suggested that the country ought to stay out of the Crimea mess altogether. "Putin in the Crimea is not a foreign policy for the United States, it's a foreign policy decision for Russia," he said. "How could … Continue reading The mote and the beam, Dana Perino-style

Have a new piece up at Lobe Log, with the latest (as of this morning) developments in Ukraine. Surprising nobody, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine in a referendum that almost everyone outside of Crimea and Russia says is illegal, and that was compromised at any rate by the armed, um, "self-defense forces" roaming around … Continue reading Crimea votes to secede, my third Ukraine piece for Lobe Log

The title of this post is borrowed from George McGovern, who famously said "I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in." Nowadays we'd presumably say "people" rather than "men," partly because it's much more common today than it was in McGovern's heyday for women to … Continue reading Dreaming up wars for (other) young men to die in

President Obama did an interview with a comedian to promote the healthcare reform, and apparently destroyed the dignity of the Office of the President, so we can just strike Article II from the Constitution and call it a day because, oh boy, there's no coming back from this. Let's hear from the experts in presidential … Continue reading On the “dignity of the office”

I'd honestly never heard of Julie Boonstra before today, and I have no particular interest in debating whether the Affordable Care Act leaves people better off in general (I think it does, marginally, but that's not the point of this post). What I find astonishing is this: Boonstra said Monday her new plan she dislikes … Continue reading When did real, honest to goodness facts become things you can “believe” in or not?

I feel like I was immersed in Crimea (because of this) and the Iran nuclear talks (that's forthcoming, hopefully) all last week, but there was a fairly major diplomatic spat that also took place involving my old home away from home, Qatar. My piece on this story was picked up by the Inter Press Service, … Continue reading Whatever’s happening in the Gulf is probably about Iran, my piece for @ipsnews and @LobeLog