All Commentaries
Bush’s Foreign Policy in Latin America: Colombia and U.S. Drug Policy
The Latin American region received little attention during either the presidential campaign or in the press coverage of the incoming administration.
Africa: Off the Agenda?
Will Africa be “off the agenda” of a Bush administration? In the first week of Bush’s term, we can answer that question with a resounding no! It’s far worse than that. After four days, Bush in effect declared war on Africa and Africans.
The Unanticipated Consequences of Policy Blindness: Why Even Belarus Matters
A dangerous blind spot in the incoming administration’s view of Russian affairs is its inadequate understanding of the significance of the newly independent states (NIS). The unanticipated consequences of such policy blindness are exemplified by developments in the 1990s in Belarus, formerly called Byelorussia—a country sandwiched between Russia and Poland—sharing a border with Ukraine to the south and with Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest.
Latin American Policy and the Bush Administration
George W. Bush’s decision to make his first overseas trip to Mexico, in mid-February, has generated a great deal of speculation about what this could possibly mean for changes in U.S. policy toward Latin America over the next four years. It is clear that Mexico is vastly more familiar and comfortable for Bush than any other foreign country. In light of the questions raised about the former Texas governor’s foreign policy experience and competence during the campaign, it is hardly surprising that he would look first to the country immediately south of the Rio Grande to show he is up to the job.
Bush Administration Should Reevaluate Failed Clinton Policies in Middle East
During the past two decades, the American military presence in the Middle East has dramatically increased, yet American interests—as well as individual Americans—are more at risk than ever. The new administration must look critically at how we define security. We cannot advance our real interests in this vital region through bombing raids, punitive sanctions targeted at innocent civilians, the arming of dictatorial regimes, the denial of the right of self-determination, and the undermining of basic principles of international law. The new Bush administration, however, appears to be unwilling to seriously reevaluate the failed policies of the Clinton administration.
Military Spending: Threats and Priorities
The Bush administration has made many of its major priorities clear through the selection of the president’s foreign policy advisers.
Winning One for the Gipper: Donald Rumsfeld and the Return of the Star Wars Lobby
The first six weeks of the George W. Bush era, starting with the flurry of appointments he made during December, through the confirmation hearings of his key cabinet members earlier this month, and on into his first full week in office, has had a very “retro” feel about it. We have a vice president who was Gerald Ford’s chief of staff, and we have a secretary of defense who got his start in the Nixon administration in 1969 before he went on to become Ford’s chief of staff and then Ford’s secretary of defense.
Bush and the Trade Agenda
Bush will have no opportunity to be a uniter on trade policy. The political landscape is simply too divided, and the same divisions that virtually paralyzed the Clinton administration on trade policy threaten to do the same with Bush. Rather, Bush’s choice will be whether to be a clever divider or a clumsy divider.
The Gulf War: 8 Myths
History can teach us a lesson only if it reflects what really happened, not simply on what those in power want people to believe happened.
Rumsfeld Reconsidered: An Ideologue in Moderate’s Clothing
As the Senate Armed Services Committee begins hearings on the nomination of Donald Rumsfeld for Secretary of Defense, new information has emerged which casts doubt on his image as a solid, non-ideological manager who can bring the Pentagon into the 21st century.