The Iran and Greek deals. Taking stock. If the Iran deal kept the conventional arms embargo, it should be a Win,
Win deal. Tsipras and Syrza having some intra-party opposition. May require a National Coalition Government.
President Barack Obama was elected on a platform that emphasized getting out soldiers out of Iraq. Through much controversy he managed to get most of our combat forces back home, but the serious question remains whether by doing so he contributed to the ISIS growth in Iraq. Similar concerns have been voiced over his caution in supporting the hodge-podge of anti-Assad groups in Syria. Some of these are friendly to the United States, some very much problematic, some downright hostile and potentially dangerous to both our interests in the region and to peace in the area in general. Not that those who are hostile to the U.S. are at all shy about asking us for weapons and air support. Whatever moves we make in Iraq or Syria seem to be fraught with traps and incredibly costly tabs. We have spent so much in this war to date that for those monies we could have provided free college tuition and medical care for years to come. Each “grand strategy” that...
Read MoreThe partisanship-izing of the Israel-U. S. relationship continues unabated. This time, even as Netanyahu tries to soften his attacks on U.S. policy, the Republicans are continuing to throw fuel on the flames on an ongoing basis. Recall that Republicans Speaker of the House, John Boehner, broke with a long standing tradition by inviting Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress—WITHOUT first notifying either President Obama OR the Democratic leadership in Congress. This in the final days of the Israeli election. Interfering with an Israeli (or U.S.) election was yet another historical N0- No! Netanyahu cemented the alliance of the Israeli right-wing to the U.S. right-wing by both accepting the invitation–a slap in the face to President Obama–and then by refusing Jewish Senator Dianne Feinstein and others’ invitation to meet face-to-face with congressional Democrats. Now, Speaker Boehner announces a post-election visit to Israel, and Republican Spokesmen are sounding a unified insulting attack on the Democratic President Obama, urging him, as National Review (a Conservative magazine) long-time...
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