The Covid-19 pandemic has consumed the world’s attention during these early months of 2020. The virus’ health threat, especially to older people and other vulnerable groups, is correctly the primary concern right now, with the pandemic’s economic consequences perhaps being the second greatest concern. Both these aspects of the pandemic fully deserve the attention of … Continue reading Sickness is the Health of the State? Civil Liberties and Conflict during a Pandemic
Category: US Foreign Policy
“Remember Pearl Harbor—Keep ‘Em Dying”: War and Racism in the Pacific
American planes dropped firebombs on Tokyo 75 years ago, on the night of March 9-10, 1945, killing an estimated 80,000-100,000 people.[1] The firebombing began a six-month-long American bombing campaign against 66 Japanese cities that culminated in the two atomic bombings and killed roughly 400,000 people in total.[2] This killing campaign was the climax of a … Continue reading “Remember Pearl Harbor—Keep ‘Em Dying”: War and Racism in the Pacific
An American Devil Figure: The Complex Legacy of Joseph McCarthy
One of the most infamous figures of 20th-century American history gave one of the most infamous speeches of 20th-century American history 70 years ago this winter. Speaking before a Republican women’s group in Wheeling, West Virginia, on February 9, 1950, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-WI), declared that a certain number of US State Department employees … Continue reading An American Devil Figure: The Complex Legacy of Joseph McCarthy
War without End: The United States’ Embrace of Massive Military Power
While Americans’ attention was focused this past December on a president’s impeachment, a significant instance of bipartisan cooperation among both houses of Congress and the executive branch unfolded. In seeming defiance of the divided state of American political life, Congress passed and President Trump signed the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This latest version … Continue reading War without End: The United States’ Embrace of Massive Military Power
East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution: Remembering the Berlin Wall’s Fall
The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago this year, on November 9, 1989. This massive barrier that since the 1960s had effectively imprisoned the residents of Communist-ruled East Berlin was also a symbol of the larger Cold War division between Eastern and Western Europe and the Soviet Union and the United States. When Berliners broke … Continue reading East Germany’s Peaceful Revolution: Remembering the Berlin Wall’s Fall
To Save Humanity: What I Learned at the “Two Minutes to Midnight” Conference
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists decided earlier this year to adjust the “Doomsday Clock,” the organization’s index of probable nuclear and other dangers facing humanity.[1] Tensions between the United States and nations such as North Korea, Russia, and China, among other factors, prompted the Bulletin to move the Doomsday Clock’s hands to two minutes to midnight—“midnight” … Continue reading To Save Humanity: What I Learned at the “Two Minutes to Midnight” Conference
Apocalypse Averted: The Brink’s Tale of Near-Nuclear War
The world might have come close to ending in the early 1980s. Tensions had been rising between the United States and the Soviet Union for years, and Soviet leaders were convinced that their American counterparts were planning to launch a nuclear war. The Soviets became hypersensitive to possible warning signs of an impending American or … Continue reading Apocalypse Averted: The Brink’s Tale of Near-Nuclear War
War Is Not a Family Value: A Conservative Case for Peace
Support for American wars and military interventions, and the massive military establishment behind them, has been a feature of American conservatism for at least the last 70 years. The Cold War and more recently the War on Terror have been embraced by the Republican Party and such conservative publications as National Review, Commentary, and the … Continue reading War Is Not a Family Value: A Conservative Case for Peace
Using Empathy during a New Cold War
An American contemplating the hostile state of current US-Russian relations might well be pessimistic. Russia, this American observer might conclude, is an implacably hostile enemy whose actions reflect Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambition to act aggressively abroad while suppressing dissent at home. From this perspective, America has no choice but to wage a new Cold … Continue reading Using Empathy during a New Cold War
Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia
America and Russia are currently engaged in a new Cold War: a conflict marked by mutual suspicion and hostility; confrontation in certain regions of the world, such as Ukraine and Syria; and at least potential military competition. Over a quarter-century after the last Cold War ended with the Soviet Union’s formal dissolution in December 1991, … Continue reading Engagement, Not Confrontation: The Need for a New US Policy toward Russia
Peacemaking for Life 