Tag Archives | foreign policy

How Politics Works

Commentary by , April 13, 2019

Five Things You Need to Read Today Editor’s Note: I was very pleased to see my recent article, “Why I Don’t ‘Believe’ in Science,” picked up by Judith Curry, a distinguished atmospheric scientist who is skeptical of global warming—exactly the sort of person to whom I want to offer this kind of intellectual ammunition. Her […]

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“We” Are All Socialists Now

Commentary by , April 2, 2019

It’s a little disconcerting how quickly the “libertarian moment” of the Tea Party era gave way to today’s socialist moment. The dissipation of that supposed “libertarian populism,” which has turned out to be more “populist” than “libertarian,” is certainly disappointing, but at least this history provides some hope that the socialist moment will prove just […]

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The Theater of the Deal

Feature Article by , March 8, 2019

Some of us never quite believed Donald Trump’s “Art of the Deal” self-image as the ultimate negotiator. It was an image crafted for the tabloids and for television, and Trump imported it straight into politics, promising he would employ his astounding powers of negotiation to achieve unprecedented results in public policy. But then where are […]

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Salon of the Refused, Episode 5

Commentary by , December 12, 2018

Episode 5 of my video and podcast series, Salon of the Refused, is now available. I talk with Tom Nichols, professor at the Naval War College and Harvard Extension School, about the “death of expertise.” The conversation includes: what happens when experts get it wrong, how both left and right have contributed to contempt for expertise, and […]

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World News Roundup

Commentary by , September 17, 2018

American politics is more of a circus than usual these days, and aside from distracting us from the really important domestic issues–the growing economy, but also this administration’s total failure to rein in government spending and debt–it also distracts us from what is going on in the rest of the world. So I decided it […]

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The Emperor of Etchasketchistan

Commentary by , July 23, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today 1. The Emperor of Etchasketchistan Back in 2013, I noted that we had reached an “Etcha-a-Sketch” moment in foreign policy. “The Syrian intervention has finally shaken loose all of the foreign policy alignments that fell into place during the Iraq War, and it’s as if someone grabbed the […]

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The Robots Are Taking Over, and They Want to Know If You Want Fries with That

Commentary by , June 26, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today 1. The Petty Pull Peddlers I took a couple of the items from my last “Five Things You Need to Read Today” edition and expanded them into standalone articles. I didn’t bother to send them out to the Tracinski Letter mailing list because they are substantial duplications of […]

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Trump’s Diplomacy Is Just Bad Theater

Feature Article by , June 13, 2018

In their “unprecedented” one-on-one summit in Singapore, US President Donald Trump announced that he would suspend joint military operations with South Korea. In return, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un agreed to…um, er, let me check. OK, nothing. He agreed to do nothing in return. Read the “agreement” signed by Trump and Kim as the result […]

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Trump Can’t Either Win Or Go Home

Feature Article by , April 16, 2018

President Trump has announced American air strikes against the Assad regime in Syria, in partnership with Britain and France. The airstrikes are for one night only, supposedly targeting the “heart” of Syria’s chemical weapons program, though the Department of Defense “acknowledged that the Syrian government most likely retained some ability to again attack its own […]

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An Intellectual Eats a Chicken Sandwich

Commentary by , April 15, 2018

Five Things You Need to Read Today Here is your latest update, for subscribers only, recommending five stories that are worth catching. 1. Trump Can’t Either Win Or Go Home President Trump has announced American air strikes against the Assad regime in Syria, in partnership with Britain and France. The airstrikes are for one night […]

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