Dereliction of Duty

by James A. Russell It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry listening to President Obama’s series of retrospective interviews on radio and television about his eight years in office. He invariably comes off as a bright, reasonable, detached… Continue Reading

Trump and the Decline of the West

by James A Russell Donald Trump’s election represents another nail in the coffin of the post-World War II global order that saw a unified West anchor the international system with its centrist domestic political consensus, free trade, and collective security… Continue Reading

Mosul and America’s Quixotic Search for the “Decisive” Battle

by James A. Russell and Donald Abenheim The Super Bowl-like reporting about the assault on Mosul is regrettably but perhaps inevitably cloaked in America’s desperate search for a clear-cut, decisive battle that will allow the country to bask in the glow… Continue Reading

Bombs Away! America’s Latest Misguided Strategic Fad

by James A. Russell You know you’re in trouble when a group of State Department diplomats (of all people) join the hawkish consensus calling for an open-ended commitment to start blasting away at Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. Somehow they think… Continue Reading