Tag: Russia
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First the Farce, then the Tragedy
“Hegel remarks somewhere that all facts and personages of great importance in world history occur, as it were, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.” Karl Marx, ‘The 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte’ (Chapter 1) “Be careful how you move, the traps are covered in the lights. Landmines…
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Credibility is about Outcomes, not “Resolve”
In wake of Vladimir Putin annexing Crimea into the Russian Federation and supporting Eastern separatists against a Ukrainian government it perhaps rightly views as illegitimate, U.S. policy hawks argued the entire crisis could have been prevented: had President Obama followed through on his August 2013 commitment to bomb the Syrian government in retaliation for its…
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The Thin and Highly-Permeable Line Between Revolution & Tyranny
Summary of a revolution: people making drastic and weighty decisions, rapidly and spontaneously, in a highly emotional state–often under the sway of some charismatic leader. Question: Are these the sorts of actions we tend to retrospectively endorse or regret? Followers of my work will know that I have been highly critical of virtually all…
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The Geneva Talks Are Not About Syria
In the second round of Geneva II talks, the government agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Homs, and a lifting of the blockade, in order to allow citizens to flee if they wish, and to allow some aid and provisions to enter for those who remain. Immediately following this concession on the part of the…
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Moammar Gaddhafi’s Final Victory
It would not be surprising if there are many in the Obama Administration who occasionally think, “I miss Moammar Gaddhafi.” And if no one there is thinking that, they should. And not just because of the camping trips he would take in New York City, his amazing sense of style, his elite unit of all-female bodyguards,…