The Guardian (January 23)
Vladimir Putin “fits the rogue male profile to a T – unscrupulous, vicious, cunning, and ever ready to trample on other people and countries.” That, not strategy, is the key to understanding his desire to invade Ukraine. “The world has been here before, many times. One screwed-up little man must not be allowed to start a war no one wants.”
Tags: Cunning, Invade, Putin, Rogue male, Trample. Strategy, Ukraine, Understanding, Unscrupulous, Vicious, War
The Economist (May 1)
Taiwan is now “the most dangerous place on Earth.” An extreme “exercise of high-calibre ambiguity has kept the peace” for decades, but that’s rapidly disintegrating as positions polarize. “America and China must work harder to avoid war over the future of Taiwan.”
New York Times (April 17)
A new front is opening “in the war over how cryptocurrency will — or will not — be regulated.” Although “Cryptocurrencies are still mostly held as speculative assets,” they could “become fundamental parts of the financial system. To many, Coinbase’s successful debut, which valued the company at $86 billion, far more than operators of stock and bond exchanges, is a signal that this transformation is already well underway.” The success of that IPO could “invite more attention from regulators.”
Tags: Bond, Coinbase, Cryptocurrency, Exchanges, Financial system, IPO, Regulated, Signal, Speculative assets, Stock, Successful, Transformation, War
The Economist (March 20)
Last week China slapped down democracy in Hong Kong. The imposition of tight mainland control over the territory is not just a tragedy for the 7.5m people who live there, it is also a measure of China’s determination not to compromise over how it asserts its will.” But China has pressure points. It is “more tightly coupled with the West than communist Russia ever was. This presents the free world with an epoch-defining question: how should it best secure prosperity, lower the risk of war and protect freedom as China rises?”
Tags: China, Communist, Compromise, Control, Democracy, Hong Kong, Imposition, Mainland, Prosperity, Risk, Russia, Territory, War
Washington Post (January 8)
“Money for war, but not for the poor.” Arguments over Mideast intervention overshadow “our failure to invest in or prioritize the safety and health of 327 million people living in the United States.” This “is also a threat to our safety and well-being.” In the U.S., 15% of children live in poverty, an opioid epidemic rages, suicide presents a massive threat, and life spans are actually declining.
Tags: Arguments, Children, Epidemic, Failure, Health, Intervention, Invest, Life spans, Mideast, Money, Opioid, Poor, Poverty, Safety, Suicide, Threat, U.S., War
Wall Street Journal (October 8)
Trump is deserting the Kurds who helped defeat ISIS. “On Sunday, the White House announced that American forces will cede the area to Turkish troops. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now free to wage war on Syria’s Kurds, who were America’s most important allies against ISIS.” The retreat from Syria “will also signal to U.S. allies that the White House can’t be trusted.”
New York Times (September 27)
“The only solace in the current American standoff with Iran is that President Trump seems not to want to risk a war. That is of some comfort in a crisis that has left the United States looking weak and untrustworthy. But the crisis could still descend into armed conflict, and that is largely attributable to Mr. Trump’s poorly considered strategy.”
New York Times (June 23)
President Trump has made a mess of Iran. His “decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal and impose crippling sanctions, when Iran was in full compliance, was foolish and, predictably, has backfired.” Still, “we are where we are” and fortunately that’s not yet full-scale war. “Finding a way to leverage his massive mistakes while demonstrating the will and capacity to climb down is our least bad option.” If he can act rationally, “with uncharacteristic clarity and resolve,” the President “now has an opening to restart talks on Iran’s nuclear program.”
Tags: Backfired, Compliance, Foolish, Iran, Mess, Mistakes, Nuclear deal, Opening, Sanctions, Trump, War, Withdraw
MarketWatch (May 20)
“Despite the mutual awareness of the Thucydides Trap—and the recognition that history is not deterministic—China and the U.S. seem to be falling into it anyway. Though a hot war between the world’s two major powers still seems far-fetched, a cold war is becoming more likely.”
Tags: Awareness, China, Cold war, Deterministic, History, Recognition, Thucydides Trap, U.S., War
Time (January 22)
“Trump’s desperation for a North Korea deal may play into Kim’s hand.” An overeager Trump might sign a sweet sounding, but dangerous, peace agreement that leaves the region more war prone, especially if it removes the rationale for stationing U.S. troops nearby. “What does this mean for South Korea? Worst case scenario is that it’s left exposed and isolated by the U.S. with a fanatical foe just miles away.”
Tags: Dangerous, Deal, Desperation, Exposed, Isolated, Kim, North Korea, Overeager, Peace, South Korea, Troops, Trump, U.S., War
