Now that Joe Biden’s victory has been confirmed by the Electoral College, we can soberly assess a remarkable year in America. One reasonable conclusion is that the US political system is so warped, harms life so much and impedes progress so badly that systemic reform is desperately needed.
The problem…
(Appeared first in the New York Daily News)
Identifying the greatest mistake committed by the Trump administration is a mammoth undertaking, and the obvious frontrunner is the handling of COVID. But if there is a challenger, it’s the withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran.
The German election was not as close as news outlets suggested in their quest for a simple-yet-engaging narrative. The result is messy, like in most elections these days, but viewed a certain way it is one that moderates and liberals in the United States and elsewhere can but envy.
It’s…
(Appeared first in Newsweek)
Democracy actually did win the Cold War, but not in quite the way a lot of people think. The “victory” is that almost all countries now — with notable exceptions like China — seem to feel they must pretend to be democratic.
It used to be…
Many are the people who ask what went wrong after 9/11. Why, after the swift decimation of Al Qaeda and the rare moment of national unity and world support, did so many things go so wrong for America? One possible answer is the invasion of Iraq.
The Iraq War was…
Do we owe anyone anything? If murderous fanatics take over a country, do outsiders have any duty to protect the innocent — to intervene? That’s the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan, and such is the question.
It is widely held that the United States these days has neither ability nor inclination…
Some political leaders are defined by big ideas and others by outcomes, even if prosaic. But with truly special ones, the zeitgeist is the legacy. That’s Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
The country should feel very different after Sunday’s swearing-in of a new government even if co-leaders Naftali Bennett (slated to…
Through a smoky haze, I recognized Alaa Aswany across the rooftop at Cairo’s Garden City Club. I had already had my share of whiskey, but to fortify I poured another double. I rarely meet authors I love. Because mostly they’re long dead.
I’ll happily engage with almost anyone in a…
How long can the British monarchy possibly go on? The question becomes a little more acute with the bombshell interview this week by the rogue royals of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
The biracial American ex-actress essentially accused members of the Royal Family of racism (in fussing about the…
“I am not a crook,” Richard Nixon famously protested. Donald Trump did not trouble himself with that. He was much more concerned with not being a sucker, and getting away with things. And he knew what he was doing.
Trump tapped into something deep about our era — something that…
