Asia

By Danny Sjursen | (Tomdispatch.com) | – – The United States has already lost — its war for the Middle East, that is. Having taken my own crack at combat soldiering in both Iraq and Afghanistan, that couldn’t be clearer to me. Unfortunately, it’s evidently still not clear in Washington. Bush’s neo-imperial triumphalism failed. Obama’s […]

Has Trump quietly surrendered to Russia and China?

Michael T. Klare | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – If there’s a single consistent aspect to Donald Trump’s strategic vision, it’s this: U.S. foreign policy should always be governed by the simple principle of “America First,” with this country’s vital interests placed above those of all others. “We will always put America’s interests first,” he […]

Could Trump’s War of Words with China turn Hot?

By Rajan Menon | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Forget those “bad hombres down there” in Mexico that U.S. troops might take out. Ignore the way National Security Adviser Michael Flynn put Iran “on notice” and the new president insisted, that, when it comes to that country, “nothing is off the table.” Instead, focus for […]

Trump’s Coming “Islamo-China” War . . . or, Whatever

By Ira Chernus | ( Tomdispatch.com ) | – – What kind of national security policy will the Trump administration pursue globally? On this issue, as on so many others, the incoming president has offered enough contradictory clues, tweets, and comments that the only definitive answer right now is: Who knows? During his presidential campaign […]

Screwed?: 4 Top International Crises we have to depend on Trump to Resolve

By Michael T. Klare | ( Tomdispatch.com) | – – Within months of taking office, President Donald Trump is likely to face one or more major international crises, possibly entailing a risk of nuclear escalation. Not since the end of the Cold War has a new chief executive been confronted with as many potential flashpoints […]

Central Asia

For Russian hold on Trump, follow the Money, not the Sex tapes

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Buzzfeed has published the unverified allegations by a former MI6 analyst with good Russian contacts, contained in a two-page hitherto secret annex to the US intelligence community’s report on Russian hacking and interference in the 2016 election. These two pages have circulated in Washington for months. […]

The Chinese Solar Juggernaut that Trump Can’t Stop

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Donald Trump has pronounced solar power “too expensive” and has pledged to revive the use of coal. The former is a falsehood, the latter a genocide. (Coal kills people with lung disease and global warming). Moreover, Trump keeps complaining that China is eating Americans’ lunch with […]

Asia

Trump’s Triangle in E. Asia: a Force for Peace or a harbinger of War?