The Duck of Minerva

Peter

Dr. Peter Howard focuses on US foreign policy and international security. He studies how the implementation of foreign policy programs produces rule-based regional security regimes, conducting research in Estonia on NATO Expansion and US Military Exchange programs and South Korea on nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

Recent Posts

Have fun storming the castle…

by Peter | 8 June, 2007 |

The Senate held hearings the other day to confirm Lt. General Douglas Lute to be President Bush's "War Czar"-- a special assistant to the President directly overseeing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.* Remember, this is the job that 3 or 4 (to our knowledge) retired Generals turned down. Lute, on active duty in the Army, could hardly say no.I wonder-- how on earth is he going to be able to do anything in this job? In the report on his confirmation hearing, Lute offered a "dour assessment" of Iraq:President Bush's nominee to be war czar said yesterday that conditions in Iraq have not improved...

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How soft can power be?

by Peter | 31 May, 2007 |

Last summer, I noted the significance of the Pentagon's creation of an Africa Command in the unified command plan. My conclusion then was:By creating such a high-profile position for Africa, the bureaucracy of the Pentagon and the US Government as a whole, will see Africa in a whole new light.On Monday, the Washington Post ran an article based on analysis of a CRS Report on the new command (You can read the entire CRS Report here).There are two broad issues here that I think merit discussion and reflect more than just the basic reorganization of boxes on the Pentagon's Org chart.First is the...

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China Launches a Bid (for hegemony)?

by Peter | 24 May, 2007 |

China is in the Satellite business. The NYT reports that China is launching a communications satellite for Nigeria (pictured right).The lead says it all:For years, China has chafed at efforts by the United States to exclude it from full membership in the world’s elite space club. So lately China seems to have hit on a solution: create a new club.Beijing is trying to position itself as a space benefactor to the developing world — the same countries, in some cases, whose natural resources China covets here on earth. The latest and most prominent example came last week when China launched a...

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Weekend News Round-up

by Peter | 21 May, 2007 |

It wasn't quite one of my best-laid plans, but it did go awry this weekend. I had intended to blog about 3 or 4 interesting stories I've been following over the weekend, but between feeding the new kid, searching for child care (if this were one of those so-called 'mommyblogs,' oh the stories i could post. but its not, so i won't...) and of course the fantastic Taste of Wheaton today, time flew by and here it is, Sunday night watching the Mets - Yankees game (and I share Rodger's view on this) and this is all that there is time to do. So, here goes:Event I really really really really wanted...

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Beisbol has been very very good to me

by Peter | 15 May, 2007 |

-- Sammy SosaThe fun thing about this blog is that we're IR scholars and baseball fans, and sometimes those two issues overlap in very interesting ways. The globalization of Major League Baseball has been all the rage in the past few years. A wealth of international players--now a full 29% of MLB opening day rosters in 2007--has brought an influx of tremendous talent into the game. MLB is actively promoting the game globally, paying games outside the USA and helping to set up baseball leagues in other countries (most recently in Israel-- notice how the Israel Baseball League website looks...

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Chavez’s Challenge (or the fatal flaw in his grand plan)

by Peter | 13 May, 2007 |

Hugo Chavez is talking a tough game, challenging the USA, and the Bush Administration in particular, all over the globe. He's rallying leaders in Latin America, meeting with 'rogues' world-wide, and even calling Bush the "devil" at the UN.But he's got a problem. In a fascinating story, The Washington Post reported that:[A] new study of trade and oil consumption data shows that Venezuela appears ever more dependent on selling its oil to the country Chávez calls "the cruelest, most terrible, most cynical, most murderous empire that has existed." And U.S. government energy trade data show the...

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Expensive War

by Peter | 11 May, 2007 |

Several stories on the War in Iraq hint at subtle yet significant shifts in the politics of the war.The war is, beyond a doubt, incredibly expensive. All wars are--its a fact of life, there's just no avoiding it. This war is rapidly becoming the most expensive war the US has ever fought:Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress has approved more than $609 billion for the wars, a figure likely to stand as lawmakers rework their latest spending bill in response to a Bush veto. Requests for $145 billion more await congressional action and would raise the cost in inflation-adjusted...

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Three: Charm, Crowd, or Magic Number?

by Peter | 7 May, 2007 |

Two major events this weekend, both deserving of comment in this space. Each totally unrelated to the other, but that's the beauty of the Blog milieu.First, in France, Sarkozy wins (or, if your French is not up to par, ici). I should be excited, or disappointed, but really, all I can muster is an emphatic "Eh."Second, in New York, Rodger Clemens is back. That should make at least one member of this blog (named PTJ) giddy with excitement, tingling from his head to his toes, dreaming of October baseball in the Bronx. Again, Eh.And yet, there's always something interesting and notable in each...

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Credible Commitment problems with Iraq

by Peter | 20 April, 2007 |

Part 17 of Why its so damn difficult to have any sort of meaningful debate about the future of US policy in Iraq, and part 34 of why the Bush Administration has a serious credibility problem when it comes to anything Iraq related.First, Bush says we can't leave:President Bush warned Thursday that pulling out of Iraq too soon would trigger a bloodbath akin to that of the Cambodian killing fields of the 1970s...."I want to remind you that after Vietnam, after we left, millions of people lost their life," Bush said here when an audience member asked about comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq....

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Reacting to the tragedy at Virginia Tech

by Peter | 17 April, 2007 |

I don't have anything that intelligent or insightful to say about the shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday. I was teaching when it happened, and one of my students with a laptop was checking the news and reported the still breaking story to the class.As this is an international relations blog, I thought that this story in today's Washington Post (which, for those of you not from the area, is treating this as a local story-- VA Tech is 4 hours from here but still seen as one of the "local" state schools) was somewhat interesting. It discusses the international reaction to the shooting, and...

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