Washington Post (November 25)
“President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is unconventional, but it’s also becoming predictably unpredictable.” Fortunately, Volodymyr Zelensky “has grown more astute at handling Trump.” He knew how to handle Trump’s latest “gambit and acted accordingly.” It seems Zelensky has transformed the lopsided peace proposal. “Ukraine could still come out ahead at the end of this nerve-wracking exercise.” While “there’s nothing wrong with talking,” American negotiators should “never forget who is really to blame for this awful conflict.”
Tags: Astute, Blame, Conflict, Foreign policy, Gambit, Handling, Lopsided, Negotiators, Nerve-wracking, Russia, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Unconventional, Unpredictable, Zelensky
Washington Post (April 9)
“Trump grabbed a life preserver. In announcing a 90-day pause on most tariffs… he acknowledged, however reluctantly, the harsh realities of economics, foreign policy and domestic politics.” While the pause is “indeed worth rejoicing,” it is only a partial pause as the trade war continues with China. “Investors, business and consumers will still be living with uncertainty. For the long term, Trump and his team are well advised to come up with a less volatile economic strategy.”
Tags: Business, China, Consumers, Economic strategy, Economics, Foreign policy, Investors, Lfe preserver, Partial, Pause, Politics, Realities, Tariffs, Trade war, Trump, Uncertainty, Volatile
Washington Post (November 29)
“Henry A. Kissinger, who died on Wednesday at 100, was one of the most consequential statesmen in U.S. history. Though his greatest triumphs occurred a half-century ago, his legacy is complex and contested and contains lessons that should inform Americans facing complicated foreign policy challenges now.”
Tags: 100, Challenges, Complex, Complicated, Consequential, Contested, Died, Foreign policy, History, Kissinger, Legacy, Lessons, Statesmen, Triumphs, U.S.
Washington Post (April 4)
“Finland has spent the 105 years since its independence tiptoeing alongside Russia, with which it has roughly 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) of border.” The cornerstone of Finnish foreign policy remained “maintaining good relations with Russia…. until last year,” when “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its demands to stop NATO expansion” shifted public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of NATO accession, which was achieved today.
Tags: Accession, Cornerstone, Demands, Finland, Foreign policy, Independence, Invasion, NATO expansion, Public opinion, Russia, Ukraine
Foreign Affairs (September 2)
“Europe’s supposed commitment to seeing Russia held to account for its actions in Ukraine seems to be trumped by its undeniable energy needs.” An overfocus on symptoms and quick fixes obscures “the path toward energy security.” Absent “coordinated foreign policy—not fragmented individual national responses…. EU member states will find themselves constantly threading the needle between upholding their values and meeting the basic needs of their citizens, a precarious exercise that will hurt the European project itself.”
Tags: Basic needs, Citizens, Commitment, Energy needs, Energy security, EU, Europe, Foreign policy, Fragmented, National, Responses, Russia, Symptoms, Ukraine, Values
Washington Post (March 27)
“North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has a way of reminding the world that he has not gone away.” North Korea’s launch of “its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile ever, in defiance of sanctions and prohibitions” is a reminder of a “foreign-policy headache for the United States and its allies.” The North’s “potential for trouble should not be underestimated.” Kim does not deserve “concessions for his unruly behavior. There is a need for some fresh thinking about how to resolve this long-festering threat.”
Tags: Allies, Ballistic missile, Concessions, Festering, Foreign policy, Fresh thinking, Intercontinental, Kim, Launch, North Korea, Prohibitions, Sanctions, Threat, Trouble, U.S., Unruly
Wall Street Journal (December 16)
“Impeachable or not, Trump’s foreign policy is reckless. He begins with disruption—breaking things—but lacks the patience and attention to rebuild.”
Tags: Attention, Breaking things, Disruption, Foreign policy, Impeachable, Patience, Rebuild, Reckless, Trump
NBC News (October 24)
“Impeachment is about abuse of power. Impeachment is about trading foreign policy for personal gain. Trump’s behavior — pressuring a foreign government to launch a sham investigation into a political rival for the purpose of disrupting a U.S. presidential election — is precisely the kind of self-dealing behavior the framers of the Constitution had in mind when they crafted the impeachment clause.”
Tags: Abuse of power, Disrupting, Foreign policy, Impeachment, Investigation, Personal gain, Rival, Trump
The Economist (September 22)
“Mr Abe may be burning to give Japan a more normal foreign policy, but what it needs most is a more normal economy. His signature policy—Abenomics—is far from complete. The fiscal and monetary expansion, his first two “arrows”, were supposed to buy time for the third and most important one: sweeping structural reforms, leading to enduring growth. The economy should take precedence over constitutional reform… Otherwise, Mr Abe will be remembered less for his long tenure than for wasting it.”
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, Arrows, Constitutional reform, Economy, Expansion, Fiscal, Foreign policy, Growth, Japan, Monetary, Structural reforms
The Economist (June 9)
“Donald Trump’s demolition theory of foreign policy won’t work. Even if the president strikes a deal with North Korea, his approach will harm America and the world.”
Tags: Approach, Deal, Demolition, Foreign policy, Harm, North Korea, Trump, U.S.
