All Commentaries
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.
President George W. Bush and the “Other” Europe
President George W. Bush and the “Other” Europe Tomas Valasek, Center for Defense Information
Republican Rule and the IFIs
For the first time in eight years the Republican Party will represent the U.S. at the international financial institutions (IFIs). The way a Bush-Cheney administration approaches recommendations made by the Meltzer Commission on the IFIs and the way it views foreign assistance and economic development will shape the positions the U.S. takes regarding the IFIs. So will the identities of the next treasury secretary, IFI executive directors, and chairs of relevant congressional committees. And though all these factors remain uncertain, one thing is clear: the new political climate will present both challenges and opportunities for advocacy groups.
Bush’s Middle East Policy: Look to his Advisers
<“It’s… important to keep a strong ties in the Middle East, with credible ties, because of the energy crisis we’re now in… I—I hope to get a sense of, should I be fortunate enough to be president, how my administration will react to the Middle East.” —George W. Bush
Bush’s Nuclear Doctrine: From MAD to NUTS?
Foreign policy issues were mostly an afterthought during the 2000 presidential campaign, and they continue to take a back seat in President-elect George W. Bush’s discussions of the priorities of his incoming administration. But one critical foreign policy issue—U.S. nuclear weapons policy—demands immediate attention and debate. The Bush foreign policy team is quietly contemplating radical changes in U.S. strategy that could set off a global nuclear arms race that will make the U.S.-Soviet competition of the cold war period look tame by comparison.
The Bush Administration: What Can We Expect for the Pentagon?
Although we don’t yet know what a Bush cabinet will look like, the Pentagon will undoubtedly get a warm reception at the White House. In addition to whomever is selected as defense secretary, President Bush will be receiving advice from former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, and it is clear that former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell will have an important role in the administration, probably as secretary of state.