Israel

Links – January 13, 2017

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

As I’ve noted before, Donald Trump’s strategy seems to be to keep enough balls in the air that we can’t keep track of any of them. And other sources are now lobbing some balls into the mix. These links don’t include much about the Trump – intelligence community – Russia dustup now occurring. I’ll try to address that separately (or at least present what I consider the better links). Here’s an FAQ for now. Read More

Links – January 7, 2017

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Donald Trump continues as a one-man DDOS attack on coherent thought. He has been tweeting at an elevated rate the past few days. I am trying to tune most of that out, but it does slow down my productivity. Since the guy is going to be President of the United States, it’s hard to ignore him. David Brooks captures the problem.

Here’s the intelligence community’s report on Russian interference in the US election.

Everyday authoritarianism is boring and tolerable. This post, from a scholar of comparative politics, is consistent with what I have been told by people who lived in the Soviet Union. It’s why we need to be extra vigilant about trends and actions by Donald Trump and his government. More from Daniel Nexon. Read More

Links – January 2, 2017

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

This story goes back to 2007, when Israel bombed a nuclear reactor under construction in Syria. It’s a detailed account from Michael Hayden, who was director of the CIA at the time. The uncertainties and the complexity of the story are normal for international affairs, and thus the story is a good example of the kind of thing President Donald Trump will face. Short version: Syria builds a nuclear reactor to produce bomb material. Israel wants America to destroy it. America refuses, Israel bombs the site. The world learns it was a reactor. But the whole thing is worth reading. Photo: The reactor before it was bombed.  Read More

Links – December 26, 2016

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

Why the State Department is worried about Donald Trump and his tweets.   Could Trump’s tweets spark a nuclear arms race? The President (or President-elect) of the United States can’t just say anything, it turns out.

Max Fisher quoted one of my tweets in his discussion of Trump’s nuclear tweet.

Jerusalem’s status is another situation where Trump’s real-estate negotiating techniques aren’t going to work.

Trump’s transition team has asked for the names of people working on climate change in the Department of Energy, women’s issues in the Department of State, and countering violent extremism in the Department of Homeland Security. So far those requests, looking very much like witch hunts, have been turned down. But once in office, Trump will have more leverage.  Read More

Links – November 7, 2016

Posted on by Cheryl Rofer

A relaxing photo of fall color in Kazakhstan.

A few election-related links first. After the election, we need to make some changes. One is that the Republican Party must rejoin the nation in looking for solutions and bettering citizens’ situations. These declarations may be to mobilize the hard core of nihilistic supporters, but carrying them out will be disastrous for the nation. Donald Trump is taking Karl Rove’s dictum about creating one’s own reality to the extreme. Another thing that Republicans must give up. And the feminist revolution must include men. Read More