The American Conservative May 2011 (print edition; posted online April 11, 2011) There has been much hand-wringing lately that the public does not share in or even understand the sacrifices being borne by America’s military. As a combat veteran who’s the son of a combat veteran, my reaction is simple: So what? In a January speech…
Author: James Joyner
World Politics Review October 26, 2010 Lead essay to the “NATO’s Identity Crisis” special issue. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been in trouble for much of its 60-year existence. Indeed, since the earliest days of the alliance, Americans have complained about burden sharing and important policymakers have issued dire predictions about the organization’s…
The National Interest July 20, 2010 An Economist leader on the future of Europe proclaims that the Continent is “Staring Into the Abyss.” The Week has “Europe on the Brink.” Investment guru John Mauldin, too. The proximate cause of all this, naturally, is the crisis of confidence in the euro but there is also considerable…
The National Interest July 2, 2010 As the North Atlantic Treaty Organization completes its new Strategic Concept, it should be resist expanding its guarantee of automatic response to include cyber and other unconventional attacks. Otherwise, it may fracture the alliance while, perversely, decreasing security against said actions. In a February speech to the Atlantic Council,…
The National Interest June 17, 2010 To put it mildly, the situation in Kyrgyzstan is a mess. Ethnic Uzbeks are being slaughtered in the streets and the government, itself there by virtue of an illegal power grab in April, is begging for Russian help. The humanitarian toll has been grim, with at least 170 dead and 1,500…
The National Interest June 3, 2010 Israel’s attack on a Gaza aid flotilla, killing nine, has earned near-universal condemnation, with even sympathetic observers terming it the act of a bully, tone deaf, staggeringly stupid, tactically incompetent, a major tactical blunder, a moral victory for Hamas, and an unqualified disaster for Israel’s reputation. But Israel is rather accustomed to international scorn and has…
Foreign Policy December 1, 2009 Today, two obscure figures will take to the highest posts in the new European Council: Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as president and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton as high representative for foreign policy. The positions, created by the Lisbon Treaty after eight long years of wrangling within the…
Foreign Policy November 2, 2009 (Invited symposium) Overall Grade: B- President Barack Obama inherited two unpopular wars and a global financial crisis. Despite mostly continuing President George W. Bush’s policies, he’s rebooted America’s image in the world and avoided most of the landmines. His top-level foreign policy staff — from Vice President Joe Biden to National…
Foreign Policy October 29, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama is so beloved in Europe that he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (which he later won) just 12 days after taking office for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.” A Pew survey this summer found that 93 percent of Germans, 91 percent of French…
The National Interest September 10, 2009 The seemingly universal consensus that existed mere months ago that Afghanistan was a “necessary war” the West could not afford to lose has suddenly evaporated. Prominent liberals, centrists and conservatives are coming out in droves to proclaim our goals too lofty and the chances of success too low to…