Section: Foreign Policy (USA)
The Wonkiest Yard
Since the 2014 midterm-election rebuke, President Barack Obama has been talking about the coming two years – his last two years in office – as the “fourth quarter” of the football game. Here at Shadow Government, we think this is an illuminating metaphor for thinking about the foreign policy challenges and opportunities confronting Team Obama....
The Best Worst Quotes of 2014
What a year it’s been. In 2014, we discovered new purported threats (Ebola/Islamic State), militarily intervened in yet another country (Syria), and got reacquainted with old interventions (extending combat operations in Afghanistan and redeploying troops to Iraq). In thousands of press conferences, congressional hearings, speeches, and...
FP’s Situation Report: U.N. efforts to supply aid to Syrians fall short; Putin proves difficult to break; Palestinian statehood bid fails; and much more.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat U.N. efforts to supply aid to Syrians in rebel-held areas fall woefully short. The United Nations promised it would deliver much needed food to two million people trapped in areas along Syria’s border. Fears of angering President Bashar al-Assad have resulted in major delays. Six months later, the number...
My Greatest Hits (and Misses) of 2014
As 2014 comes to an end — and not a moment too soon as far as I’m concerned — I decided to glance in the rear-view mirror and re-read all the FP columns I posted over the past twelve months. By my count, I published 49 columns last year, on topics ranging from the Iran talks, the all-too predictable world-view of DC think tanks, the...
Yes, Russia’s Military Is Getting More Aggressive
On Dec. 12, a Russian military jet came dangerously close to a Scandinavian Airlines passenger plane in international airspace near southern Sweden. Reportedly, the Russian aircraft was flying without its transponder active when the Swedish military detected it. The Swedes notified civilian air traffic control, which then diverted the civilian...
FP’s Situation Report, presented by Lockheed Martin: Taliban declares victory in Afghanistan; Germany is spying on citizens with suspected ties to the Islamic State; Japan and South Korea team up to counter North Korea; and much more.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat The Taliban declares victory one day after NATO ends its mission in Afghanistan. Taliban insurgents have been waging a brutal campaign across Afghanistan in the run up to the end of America’s longest war. The Taliban is claiming victory after NATO’s mission closed in Kabul Sunday. The group also...
Putin’s Dream of a Russian NHL Collapsing As His Economy Tanks
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s love of the bravado and machismo of hockey is well known. He personally took in games at the 2014 Winter Olympics, glowering when the star-studded Russian team was bounced, and was in the locker room celebrating when Russia won the Ice Hockey World Championships in May. Putin often talks of turning...
In Hong Kong, Anger Waits in the Wings
HONG KONG — A surprisingly festive atmosphere greeted onlookers on Dec. 10, the night before the clearance of Admiralty, the largest campsite for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters, as over 10,000 showed up to play music, distribute souvenirs, and eat hot pot to celebrate what they hoped was a beginning, not an end, to their movement....
FP’s Situation Report, presented by Lockheed Martin: America’s longest war is officially over; The Islamic State executes nearly 2,000 in six months; Russia declares NATO expansion a national security threat; and much more.
By David Francis with Sabine Muscat The war in Afghanistan, America’s longest, is now formally over. The 13-year war, which claimed more than 2,200 American lives and cost more than one trillion dollars, ended quietly at a ceremony in Kabul yesterday. U.S. President Barack Obama and other Western leaders promised their ongoing commitment...
How to Win Friends and Influence Putin
Last week, as the ruble collapsed in value against the U.S. dollar and a full-blown financial crisis threatened to explode in Russia, news broke that President Barack Obama planned to sign a piece of legislation that essentially amounts to a declaration of war on Russia. The evocatively titled Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, which was...
