Gen. Mattis and the policy for Afghanistan in 2017 - learning from the experience of the 2011 Iraq withdrawal, and giving meaning to earlier sacrifices

08/22/2017

Linked Articles

Trump announces new strategy for Afghanistan that calls for a troop increase

Washington Post 08/22/2017

David Nakamuraabby Phillipdavid Nakamuraabby Phillip

Wall Street Journal 04/18/2015

James N. Mattis, James, N., Mattis

Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariff on China's exports to the U.S.- how a policy of bringing jobs home could lead to the loss of 1 million U.S. jobs

03/08/2016

By damaging the international trading system including with allies such a Canada, Britain, France and Germany, the result of a downward spiral through higher tariffs in other countries, could end up costing the U.S. 1 million jobs. Under such a system the U.S. would lose many of the advantages of its booming tech sector, its tech driven global advantages in many industries, without signifcant gains in low cost imports such as clothing which would simply migrate to other countries such as India. The problem of worker wage stagnation in the U.S., and loss of jobs in certain sectors, is very real, but this is the wrong way to tackle the problem. China is already moving towards a consumer driven economy. Economists show that trade with Mexico would be seriously hurt both ways, creating more pressure of migrants at the border under such proposals as a 45% tariff and its indirect effect on Mexico, when the actual fact is that net migration from Mexico is the lowest it has ben in decades. Politics can do strange things as when two senators Smoot and Hawley from agricultural states Utah and Oregon, at the head of important committees in the U.S. Congress pushed and passed legislation for a 60% tariff in 1930 for the industrial sector they had no idea about. When Smoot and Hawley lost reelection in 1932 they left behind a lot of damage, especially for the farmers and workers they thought they were fighting for.

Linked Articles

How Trump’s Hard Line on Trade Could Backfire

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2016

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Wall Street Journal 03/08/2016

Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Holman, W., Jenkins, Jr.

Lt. Gen "Ben" Hodges, Commander U.S. Army in Europe, on the Russian moves towards Mariupol in eastern Ukraine in Feb. 2015

02/08/2015

Ben Hodges describes the Russian threat to peace in Eastern Europe under president Putin and the need for U.S. preparedness.

Linked Articles

The View From NATO’s Russian Front

Wall Street Journal 02/09/2015

Sohrab Ahmari, Sohrab, Ahmari

New York Times 02/08/2015

Rick Lyman, Rick, Lyman

The contrasting views of Gen. Jones and Khedery in August 2014 on Iraq's tangled tortuous politics and sectarianism, showing the difficulty of the Iraq mission

08/15/2014

Linked Articles

How to Save Iraq and Honor American Sacrifice

Wall Street Journal 08/15/2014

James L. Jones, James, L., Jones

New York Times 08/15/2014

Ali Khedery, Ali, Khedery

BaFin, German federal financial regulatory authority, and the problems at Deutsche Bank- regulators slow to act on information

03/28/2014

Eyk Henning of the WSJ points out the slow response of regulator BaFin to information about problems at Deutsche Bank that suggest a broken culture in a report on March 28, 2014. This comes 6 years after the WSJ first reported the LIBOR rate manipulation in 2008 leading to British and U.S. regulatory investigations. In April 2015 Deutsche Bank made a legal settlement for LIBOR rate manipulation of $2.5 billion with U.S. and British regulators. As the time when regulatory authority passes to the European Central Bank, and after a period of 7 years since the 2008 WSJ report, BaFin finally sends its report on the broken culture at the bank. A month later the two co-CEO's at the bank resign.

Linked Articles

Germany Blasts Deutsche Bank Executives Over Culture

Wall Street Journal 07/17/2015

David Enrich, David, Enrich, Jenny Strasburg And Eyk Henning, Jenny, Strasburg, And, Eyk, Henning

Wall Street Journal 03/28/2014

Eyk Henning, Eyk, Henning

Declan Walsh on why the firing of live ammunition on protesters in Cairo may end up as a watershed event for the Muslim world going forward

08/16/2013

Declan Walsh sees this in the context of the Muslim world. Janvoo sees this in the context of the world beyond, of Aisa and Latin America which have moved beyond the divisive politics of the past and away from military regimes- S. Korea, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and one party PRI Mexico. The return of Gen. Park's daughter as president of S. Korea was a different one when she apologized for the behaviour of her father, even saying she coud not spit on the image of her father. Nieto's PRI is apologetic about its past and says its different, working with the opposition PRD and PAN parties on constitutional changes for reforming the econoy. Egypt and the Arab world is no exception. The Saudis and Emirates are able to deliver in economic terms as long as oil supplies and prices are high. Egypt has to find its own path and learn from the past to build the future.

Linked Articles

Other Nations Offer a Lesson to Egypt’s Military Leaders

New York Times 08/24/2013

Declan Walsh, Declan, Walsh

New York Times 08/16/2013

Charles A. Kupchan, Charles, A., Kupchan

Insights into the thinking of Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke for a strong labor market before increasing interest rates

07/18/2013

Yellen is expected to look beyond the unemployment rate target of 6.5% set by Bernanke in Dec. 2012, and give emphasis to the long term unemployed. Bernanke also mention the under employment rate as an additional factor to consider.

Linked Articles

Don’t Expect Job Data Alone to Persuade Fed on Rates

New York Times 01/23/2014

Floyd Norris, Floyd, Norris

Wall Street Journal 07/18/2013

Jon Hilsenrath, Jon, Hilsenrath, Victoria Mcgrane, Victoria, Mcgrane

The advice of General Keane in May 2013, decisions for Syria and Iraq by president Obama ignoring this advice, and the situation in September 2014

05/22/2013

Gen. Keane's advice was to destroy the 50 airstrips used by the Assad regime and its air defense system with cruise missiles and American airpower, the alternative would be to establish a no fly zone such as the one used in Libya. Direct use of American airpower early in the conflict would make it possible to keep American involvement constructive, and effective.

Linked Articles

Jack Keane and Danielle Pletka: How to Stop Assad's Slaughter

Wall Street Journal 05/22/2013

Jack Keane And Danielle Pletka, Jack, Keane, And, Danielle, Pletka

New York Times 09/08/2014

Peter Baker, Peter, Baker

Criticism of Japan's central bank on the lack of an activist monetary policy to support economic growth 2010-2012

05/07/2012

Shinzo Abe of the LDP, the leading candidate for prime minister after general elections in Dec. 2012, says he will appoint a new central bank chief who supports an activist monetary policy. Abe supports the BOJ setting an inflation target of 2% compared to the 1% under current Bank of Japan chief Shirakawa. Both the governing DPJ and the LDP parties are strongly critical of Shirakawa and prefer to see an activist stance against deflation similiar to the one Ben Bernanke is taking against unemployment in the U.S. Abe returns to power after becoming LDP prime minister following the government of Junichiro Koizumi.

Linked Articles

Vote Challenges Japan's Central Bank

Wall Street Journal 12/13/2012

Takashi Nakamichi, Takashi, Nakamichi, Takashi Mochizuki, Mochizuki, Jacob M. Schlesinger, Jacob, M., Schlesinger

Wall Street Journal 05/07/2012

Tatsuo Ito, Tatsuo, Ito

Did Putin overreact in Georgia 2008 and Ukraine 2014? Russia and the dangers to the Russian economy of not maintaining good relations with the West

08/13/2008

Russia tones down its overreaction as 66% of Russians polled in June say Russian forces should not enter Ukrainian terrritory. Putin and Russians in the administration policy making may have underestimated the reaction in the U.S. as reflected in this WSH editorial saying Americans should remember the words of Gen. Lucius Clay during the Berlin Blockade and the subsequent airlift. This could be why analysts in Russia now maintain that good relations with the West must be maintained, and entry of Russian forces into Ukraine would have disastrous consequences for Russia in terms of western sentiment and foreign investor sentiment. In such a situation Germany would be likely to support the stronger U.S. position seeing this in terms of the language used in theBerlin Airlift of 1948. For Germany and Russia this would be reversing the hard won gains of building relations from the time of Brandtand Kohl till today, fifty years of effort to build better relations and economic relationships- just too much for sober heads in Moscow Paris, and Berlin to accept, and closing another chapter in Russia's interactions with the West.

Linked Articles

Bush and Georgia

Wall Street Journal 08/13/2008

Wsj Print, Wsj, Print

New York Times 07/11/2014

Neil Macfarquhar, Neil, Macfarquhar