by Dan Nexon | 1 Nov 2010 |
CBS Nevada reporter Nathan Baca tried to approach [Sharron] Angle during a stroll through the airport and the airport parking lot with questions about her foreign policy views.After going through several evasive answers, an irritated Angle replied: "I will answer those questions when I'm the senator."Much of the liberal reaction to Angle's latest evasion of the press has taken the form of "if she can't face reporters, how can she a U.S....
by Rodger Payne | 4 Jul 2010 |
I've been doing some car shopping this past week and it appears as if one of the best bargains around is the 2010 Nissan Altima Hybrid. The base car's invoice price is a bit less than $26,000. However, Nissan is offering $5000 (!!) cash back in some areas of the country -- $4000 that has been available for many months, $500 that is a generic Nissan incentive over the next month, and $500 more for the holiday weekend. That means that
by Charli Carpenter | 15 Jan 2010 |
First, as posted at LGM, I predict this book is going to sell a whole lot of copies this year. Unlike many ongoing crises that suffer from lack of aid money, in Haiti the relief lag we are seeing is due not to compassion fatigue (text message donations surpassed $10 mil today, equal to the amount pledged by Brazil or Switzerland) but rather to sheer logistical strain caused by poorly built or now-destroyed infrastructure. (You simply can't...
by Dan Nexon | 7 Apr 2009 |
Rob Farley argues, contra Ed Morrissey, against deploying a partially effective>ballistic missile defense (BMD) system:Ed, let me explain something to you, slowly and carefully. Missile defense, at least when conceived as a response to the threat of nuclear attack on the United States, needs to be "complete and perfect." Otherwise it's useless. There are virtually no foreign policy goals that a President will consider worthwhile if there's a 5%...
by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 19 Aug 2008 |
With all of the excellent almost-real-time analysis going on around here lately, I haven't felt the need to chime in myself; my Duck colleagues are doing an excellent job, and they are more up-to-date on the specifics of Russian-Georgian relations and the various on-the-ground issues. So I've been a consumer like the rest of our readers, watching events unfold out of the corner of one eye as I struggle to get some book chapters cranked out...
by Dan Nexon | 18 Aug 2008 |
Russia, NATO, Georgia, the Abkhaians... everyone, sensing the final draw-down of the immediate crisis, is trying to, variously, make sense of what it all means, maximize their long-term position, or just stay afloat.One can only imagine how this is playing out within the Russian military. By this point, just about everyone is saying the same thing: the Russian air force underperformed.Early reports indicate that pipelines running through...
by Dan Nexon | 14 Aug 2008 |
... Big news just came down the pike. Courtesy of a friend, I learn that Poland has agreed to host US ballistic-missile defenses. As geopolitical lines harden, the question becomes if Russia's actions will drive a wedge between NATO members that embrace a harder or a softer line towards Russia. Or will balance-of-threat dynamics lead to renewed NATO cohesion? I suspect the answer is far from preordained: a great deal depends on how US and...
by Dan Nexon | 14 Aug 2008 |
Despite some noises to the contrary, the Russians remain in control of Gori and Poti. Tony Halpin reports in the Times that Russian and Georgian forces almost exchanged fire in Gori, but that on-the-ground negotiations continue:Russian and Georgian troops came close to a fire-fight today as a tense stand-off developed over the continued occupation of the strategic city of Gori.As the first US humanitarian aid arrived in Georgia, Condoleezza...
by Dan Nexon | 8 Jul 2008 |
Social-choice theory (or, in this context, public-choice theory) suggests that leaders sign international agreements as a way of "locking in" their preferred policies. Once a state signs such an agreement, the logic goes, future leaders will face greater costs if they want to change their predecessors' policies.It doesn't take a fancy degree to recognize that's what the Bush Administration has been up to in a number of arenas. Iraq is one of...
by Maia Gemmill | 27 Jun 2007 |
Did you know that there's a new Cold War? Well, not really. It makes for good media headlines, but it's largely exaggerated hype.Nevertheless, tensions between the US and Russia have been on the rise over the last year. At the heart of the matter is Russia's desire to be taken seriously as a player in the world political scene. The economy is booming and government coffers are overflowing. Russia sees itself as undergoing a resurgence and they...
by Rodger Payne | 3 Apr 2007 |
What do other states think of America's nuclear arsenal and strategic posture? Defense analyst Lewis Dunn, with coauthors Gregory Giles, Jeffrey Larsen, and Thomas Skypek, recently completed a project sponsored by the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office (ASCO) of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency that looked at this and related questions. Their report is available on the web: Foreign Perspectives on U.S. Nuclear Policy and Posture (warning:...