Section: The American Interest (USA)
Trump and Russia: Confusion at the Top
President Trump has stated regularly that he will conduct national security policy from a position of strength. As part of this effort he has vowed to increase defense spending, sounded the alarm on China’s expansive aims in the South and East China Seas, and placed new sanctions on Iran in the wake of its ballistic missile tests.Yet there...
The US and Russia—What’s the Big Deal?
This article is the third of three essays on U.S.-Russian relations in the transition to a new U.S. administration. The second is here.The new Trump Administration can be expected to conduct a thorough review of the country’s foreign and security policies. It would do well to avoid the temptation (one to which the incoming Obama...
Trump and EU Agree on Russia Sanctions
The theory that Trump is in the thrall of Putin took another blow today, as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the EU’s Federhica Mogherini agreed to uphold current Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia. Wall Street Journal: The Trump administration and European officials agree on the need to keep sanctions in place against Russia...
Don’t Retire the National Security Act
At age seventy, the National Security Act of 1947 is now well past the normal retirement age, but, like many other Baby Boomers, it is still working full-time. As the Trump revolution unfolds should we expect to see it junked? Even before Trump there were calls to update the fundamental statutory basis for national security decision and...
Ukraine Reckons With Trump
When Nadiya Savchenko was released from Russian captivity in May 2016, she emerged onto the Ukrainian political scene as a fully formed national hero. The homecoming of the former army pilot—a brave soldier who was captured in eastern Ukraine, sentenced on trumped-up murder charges by the Kremlin, and endured a hunger strike in a protest against...
How To Profit From a Standoff With the United States
While most in the media (and not a few experts) were trying to prove that Donald Trump was put in the White House by Vladimir Putin—that the Kremlin changed the outcome of the election in favor of its “puppet”, almost nobody paid attention to how the Kremlin itself looked ahead to its future with Donald Trump in the White House. It turns out that...
Haley Blasts Russia at the UN
When a new surge of fighting broke out in Ukraine’s restive east early this week, all eyes turned to Washington to gauge the response of an administration that has seemed eager to mend ties with Putin. The answer, however, came not from Washington but New York, where U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sent a clear message...
Weak States: When Should We Worry?
Dramatic upheaval in the Middle Eastern landscape in recent years has given the United States and its allies renewed appreciation for how weak states affect international security and other foreign policy goals. It has become obvious that the wars in Syria, Iraq, and Libya have threatened Europe’s security. Likewise, the waves of refugees...
The Eight Great Powers of 2017
1. The United States of AmericaNo surprise here: as it has for the last century, the United States remains the most powerful country on earth. America’s dynamic economy, its constitutional stability (even as we watch the Age of Trump unfold), its deep bench of strong allies and partners (including 5 of the 7 top powers listed below), and...
Same World, Lonely World, Cold World
Never before in American history has the prospective foreign policy of a new Administration been cloaked in so much uncertainty. This is because four distinct sources of uncertainty have joined together to make a proverbial perfect storm: Donald Trump’s profound lack of government experience; his present-oriented, narcissistic personality;...
