Section: The Atlantic (USA)
How Obama Views Strength
Joshua Richards / ReutersAnyone who got beat up as a kid knows there’s no one weaker than a bully. International politics is slightly more complicated than that, of course, but not by much. During a lengthy interview with Steve Kroft on 60 Minutes that aired Sunday night, President Obama tried to explain how Russian President Vladimir...
Why ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ Sound So Similar in So Many Languages
Pregnant women in India, where the word for “mom,” in Hindi, is “mām̐” Mansi Thapliyal / ReutersIs there anything inherently “doggy” about the word “dog”? Obviously not—to the French, a dog is a chien, to Russians a sobaka, to Mandarin Chinese-speakers a gǒu. These words have nothing in common, and none seem any more...
ISIS Against Humanity
A fighter with the Kurdish People’s Protection Units fires an anti-aircraft weapon at ISIS forces in Syria. Roti Said / ReutersNearly two millennia ago, the Romans built the Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria. According to Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, published in 1881, “The wonder in these ancient ruins is not that so much has...
The Nobel Prize and a ‘Monument to Suffering and Courage’
Sergei Grits / APThe Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature for her “polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time.” Alexievich, 67, is perhaps best known for Voices from Chernobyl, which told the consequences of the nuclear disaster, and Boys In Zink, which...
Some Thoughts on Syria
I won’t linger on this, but the Obama administration has made a real botch of Syria, misreading the Arab Spring from the start, empty threats, etc. That said: where now? At this point, there is no side in Syria that we are “for”—a point well made by Fareed Zakaria. But unlike Iran-Iraq war, Syria’s geography rules out “may both sides...
Russia’s Violation of Airspace ‘Doesn’t Look Like An Accident’
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg Virginia Mayo / APNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Russia’s violation of Turkey’s airspace “doesn’t look like an accident.” The comments mark an escalation in the rhetoric between the alliance and Russia over Moscow’s actions in the Syrian civil war on behalf of President...
The Link Between Putin’s Military Campaigns in Syria and Ukraine
Russian sailors in Sevastopol, Crimea Pavel Rebrov / ReutersIn the past year and a half, Russia has intervened militarily in two countries, Ukraine and Syria, where revolution and extreme political polarization threatened the governments of pro-Russian leaders. And that’s pretty much where the similarities between the campaigns end, except...
Russia’s Syria Campaign
An explosion is seen in Syria on Friday following Russian airstrikes. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via APRussia’s Defense Ministry says its air force carried our more strikes on targets in Syria, two days after the country entered the conflict on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad and raised tensions with the U.S. Lieutenant...
Watch What Putin Does, Not What He Says
A Kremlin guard opens a door for Russian President Vladimir Putin as he enters a meeting in October. ReutersThe thing about Vladimir Putin is, it really doesn’t matter what he says. When the Russian president took to the tribune at the UN General Assembly earlier this week, he did so amid rampant expectations that he would say something...
Russia’s Expanded Role in the Syrian Conflict
Old allies Sergei Karpukhin / ReutersRussian President Vladimir Putin has received permission from the upper house of Parliament to use military force, paving the way for airstrikes in Syria. The vote at the Federation Council, which Putin sought after a formal request from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for Russian help, was 162-0. Sergei...
