Saudi Arabia can afford it. After all, it’s an investment. The Washington Post reported, “The day after leaving the White House, Kushner created a company that he transformed months later into a private equity firm with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Saudi Crown Prin[...]
Archive for the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Category
February 26th, 2023 - 5:03 am § in Biden, China, Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Republicans, Russia
Is Nikki Haley a serious presidential candidate?
Nikki Haley wants to be president for no better reason than she wants to be president. That’s more or less the media narrative, which has focused on her struggles to differentiate herself from other aspirants (see story here), beyond being a Republican who isn’t Trump (although she certa[...]
Will China down a U.S. “spy plane” over its “sovereign territory”?
Earlier this month the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon after it crossed all of North America, lingering over military sites. It came down in U.S. territorial waters inside the 12-mile limit. On the other side of the world, the U.S. routinely conducts military flights over the South China Sea. S[...]
It sucks to be a Russian soldier
“Advance at any cost.” Those are the marching orders being given to Russian soldiers fighting in eastern Ukraine; and by some accounts, the cost is very high. Ukraine claims it’s killing over a thousand Russians a day. While that can’t be verified, outside expert observers sa[...]
Book review: “To Rule the Waves”
If you read only one book on global politics and strategy this year, make it this one. The author, Bruce D. Jones (bio here), has an academic background and has worked for the U.N., World Bank, and is currently at the Brookings Institution. He’s been a fellow at Stanford, Princeton, Yale, and [...]
January 12th, 2023 - 6:14 pm § in America, Biden, Donald Trump, Foreign Affairs, Politics, Republicans
Be careful who you trust with the nuclear codes
Part of America’s freedom is that we can elect our leaders. That has downsides, although so far not enough to replace democracy with some other system. One of the bigger downsides is that you might get a leader like Trump. America’s voters should think hard before they do that again. Tha[...]
Progressives stumble on Ukraine
The House progressive caucus, led by Rep. Primala Jayapal (D-WA), released a well-meaning but awkward letter urging Biden to pursue a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine war on Monday, October 24, 2022. Within 24 hours, they retracted and disavowed it (see story here). As described by The Hill here, [...]
October 17th, 2022 - 8:25 pm § in Foreign Affairs
Iran’s George Floyd moment
Mahsa Amini, 22, was murdered by the Iran regime’s “morality police” after arresting her for letting hair show under a head scarf. Yes, she was killed by the cops for a dress code violation. The hijab law has been around since religious fanatics seized power in 1979, but is unpopul[...]
Should the U.S. divorce Saudi oil?
Democrats are mad as hell, and don’t want to take it anymore. The problem is Saudi Arabia is under new management. King Salman is still alive, but he’s 87, and is comfortably retired. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 37, runs the country. And probably will for a long, long time[...]