Link: An Assessment of the Threat of Nuclear War
This article from FiveThirtyEight.com is well worth reading: We’re Edging Closer to Nuclear War.
Christianity | Foreign Policy | Politics | Religion | War
Syria: To Intervene or Not
Religion News Service provides us with some comments by the experts on the ethics of intervening in Syria (HT: UM-Insight). Now I am neither a theologian nor an ethicist, so I wouldn’t claim to be able to parse all the issues in deciding whether an intervention is just. In fact, I find many of the…
The Art of Not Waging War
As we become involved in the conflict in Lybia, I’ve been reflecting on the American strategy–or lack thereof–in foreign policy. To the extent that we have such a strategy it appears to be big on expenses on low on good results. I’m not a pacifist, and I certainly won’t object to seeing Gaddafi out of…
The Multiple Personality Disorder of American Foreign Policy
A number of bloggers have been expressing their solidarity with the Egyptian people today. On that subject I’m going to suggest the words of two friends of mine, Allan Bevere and Bob Cornwall. Yet while I sympathize with the Egyptian people, I am going to comment on something else. Why is it that our moral…
An Inconvenient Truth on Israel and Palestine?
Brian McLaren links to this article at the Huffington Post. It may be inconvenient, but is it truth? (I guess I need to tell my readers that I often like what Brian McLaren has to say, but then there are these moments.) I’m also opposed to those who think Israel is always right. But there…
Congratulations to the British
According to Newsweek, Britain’s Court of Appeals has ordered the release of information on the torture of a British resident while in U. S. custody (HT: Dispatches). Both the Bush and then the Obama administrations have argued against releasing this information and threatened the British with refusing to share intelligence if it was released. I…
President Obama and the Peace Prize
This is just a quick early reaction, and my reaction is that it is too early to judge President Obama’s impact on world peace. Yet he has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for which nominations were closed two weeks after he took office. I want to be clear that what I like most about…
Rockets and Bombs Hamper Cease Fire!
I’m working on some web stuff and have the TV on at the same time. I saw on the scroller for MSNBC that rockets and mortars are falling on southern Israel “hampering diplomatic efforts to revive a cease fire.” I guess one could say that things that go BOOM! might “hamper diplomatic efforts.” Somehow I…
Georgia and Ossetia – Asking the Right Questions
I am not proposing answers at this point, because I haven’t had time to study the situation in any detail, but it seems to me the right time to point out some problems with the questions. It appears to me that almost everything I read about the situation with Georgia, Russia, and Ossetia involves ad…
Hillary Clinton Should not be Blamed for This
All my readers know by now that I prefer Barack Obama out of the available options. Now we receive the exciting news that Bill Clinton disagrees with her on free trade with Colombia. Huge surprise there, considering he pushed NAFTA through, though it’s mildly surprising that he isn’t trying to cover it all up. Personally…