When Trade War Threatens Real War
Biden is blurring the lines between economic policy and military action.
War
Ukraine's Sluggish Counteroffensive Raises Questions About U.S. Support
Should the U.S. continue to bankroll the counteroffensive?
When Our Weapons Go Missing
Washington is doing a poor job of monitoring whether the weapons it sends to Ukraine are ending up in the right hands.
Cluster Bombs Aren't the Only Weapons That Kill People After a War Is Over
Progressive Democrats' opposition to sending cluster bombs to Ukraine is welcome. Their arguments apply to much of the military aid the U.S. is sending the country.
The NATO Treaty Does Not Supersede the Constitution
A group of senators is challenging the conventional interpretation of Article 5's an-attack-on-one-is-an-attack-on-all provision.
Fearmongering Won't Solve Climate Change
Global warming is an issue. But there are other pressing problems that deserve the world's attention.
Russia Looks Increasingly Medieval After the Coup That Wasn't
Feudal-style squabbling with the control of nuclear weapons at stake.
Michael McFaul Makes the Case for Reaching out to the "Russian Diaspora"
A leading US expert on Russia advocates outreach to Putin's Russian opponents and encouraging emigration from Russia. The best way to encourage Russians to leave is to allow more of them to come to the West.
Anticlimactic End to Wagner Group's Armed Rebellion in Russia
Plus: Florida drag law ruled unconstitutional, Meta cancels Canadian news posts, and more...
RIP Daniel Ellsberg, Who Told the World the Truth About the Vietnam War
The Pentagon Papers leaker risked prison to reveal that American military officials were lying to Congress and the public about Vietnam. He died today at age 92.
In Ukraine's Struggle for Survival, a Reminder of War's Harsh Moral Compromises
There’s no neat and clean way to fight a war, even for victims of aggression.
Frederick Douglass's Classic 1871 Decoration Day Speech
Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day, an occasion to honor the fallen soldiers of the Civil War. Douglass' 1871 speech may be the greatest-ever address associated with this occasion.
Have a Lifeguard Shortage at Your Pool? Here's a Big, Underreported Reason Why
Memorial Day ushers in the unofficial start of summer. But if your pool is missing lifeguards, issues with immigration may be the culprit.
The Two Faces of Ron DeSantis
Sometimes he calls for freedom, and sometimes he preaches something darker.
Andrew Hyman Responds on Migration and Invasion
I have posted his response to my previous post, along with a rejoinder.
Did the Pentagon Just Make a $3 Billion Accounting Error—or Did It Do Something Even Worse?
The Pentagon’s “accounting error” will allow President Joe Biden to send an extra $3 billion in military aid to Ukraine without congressional approval. Was this deliberate?
Immigration Is Not "Invasion"
A critique of claims that the federal government and the states can use military force to prevent immigration, based on constitutional powers to prevent "invasion."
Trump's Disregard for the Rule of Law Is at Least As Bad As Biden's
The former president reminds us that claiming unbridled executive power is a bipartisan tendency.
Trump on Ukraine: 'I Don't Think in Terms of Winning and Losing—I Think in Terms of Getting It Settled'
He's not wrong about that.
Will 2024 Bring the Return of the Neocons?
The GOP nominee can forge a humbler path on foreign policy—or turn back to failed neoconservatism.
Of Course Washington and Moscow Are Fighting a Proxy War
That doesn't mean Russia is right. It means we're being honest about how much the U.S. is involved.
Is Clarence Thomas Ethically Challenged?
Plus: What the editors hate most about the IRS and tax day
Russian Opposition Leader Vladimir Kara-Murza's Powerful Final Statement to the Court
He made it prior to being sentenced to 25 years in prison for speaking out against Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine.
U.S. Intelligence Leak Suspect Identified as 21-Year-Old Jack Teixeira
Plus: More secrecy from the Global Disinformation Index, the public awaits another big Supreme Court abortion decision, and more...
Pentagon Leak Reveals 14 U.S. Troops in Ukraine
While escalation is not inevitable, it’s still a risk having any U.S. boots on the ground.
Massive Leak of Ukraine Intelligence Documents Angers U.S. Allies
Plus: Evan Gershkovich charged with espionage in Russia, the DOJ appeals a Texas judge's abortion ruling, and more...
Debate: The U.S. Should Increase Funding for the Defense of Ukraine
Does Ukraine face an existential risk? Does it matter?
Senate Finally Revokes the President's Authority To Bomb Iraq
Revoking the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force would be a good start, but the 2001 authorization has been used dozens of times to justify conflicts in numerous countries.
Recent Airstrikes Are Our Periodic Reminder That We're Fighting a War in Syria
Four years after IS was officially defeated, the U.S. continues to keep hundreds of troops in Syria to fight the vanquished terrorist group.
20 Years After Iraq, U.S. Leaders Still Don't Fully Consider International Risks
Are we stumbling into disaster? Again?
John Bolton Is Still Wrong About Iraq
Bolton says the Bush administration's biggest error in Iraq was failing to invade Iran too. That's madness.
International Criminal Court Issues War Crimes Arrest Warrant Against Vladimir Putin
The charge is the crime of illegal kidnapping and deportation of Ukrainian children.
No, the U.S. Shouldn't Wage War Against Mexican Cartels
There's little reason to believe that any of the tactics Republican politicians are proposing would be effective in keeping fentanyl out of the country.
Ron DeSantis Is Clumsily Backing Away From His Past as a Russia Hawk
DeSantis' foreign policy seems to be defined by a simple rule: Whatever Democrats do is wrong, but whatever Republicans do is right.
Conservatives Turn Further Against War—Except Maybe With Mexico
While a conservative skepticism toward military aggression would be welcome, Republican standard-bearers are all too happy to sign off on war powers in other ways.
A Year of Writings on the Russia-Ukraine War
A compilation of my work on this topic, on the one-year anniversary of the start of Vladimir Putin's attempt to conquer Ukraine.
A Conflict Between Liberal Democracy and Authoritarian Nationalism: Implications of the Ideological Stakes in the Russia-Ukraine War
The war is often described as a conflict between authoritarianism and liberal democracy. That reality has some underappreciated implications.
The Ukraine War May Engulf the World
What was a local conflict is shaping up as a battle between alliances.
The War in Ukraine Has No End in Sight
After one year, whatever morale boost Biden’s visit provided won’t necessarily have concrete, strategic effects in Ukraine.
Did Biden Just Commit America to Another Forever War in Ukraine?
Plus: the editors field a listener question on intellectual property.
During Surprise Trip to Kyiv, Biden Promises Endless Support for Ukraine War
Plus: The National Endowment for Democracy ends funding of conservative media blacklist, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear major internet free speech case, and more...
Russia's War in Ukraine Threatens Starvation for the World's Poor
Global hunger declined for decades before pandemic policies and Russia’s invasion broke the world.
The Militant Pacifists of World War II
War by Other Means tells the story of those conscientious objectors who did not cooperate with the government's alternative-service schemes.
Why Is It So Hard for Congress To End a War?
Lawmakers are once again trying to reclaim their war powers through AUMF repeal.
Biden's Foreign Policy Is Adrift
His State of the Union address sketched a foreign policy that is reckless on some points, relatively restrained on others, and utterly uninterested in any real resolution to America’s lingering military entanglements.