Category Archives: Musings and Polemics
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO AMERICA?
Rummaging through my accumulated papers, I just came across the English translation of a speech I delivered in Czech on July 4, 1982, when I was American ambassador in Prague. At that time Czechoslovakia was ruled by a Communist regime … Continue reading
“SELF DEFENSE” DOES NOT LICENSE GENOCIDE
Genocide is a crime—not just a “war crime,” but a crime against humanity. No genuine friend of Israel could support the carpet bombing of Gaza, the order for more than a million Gazans to leave their residences on territory Israel, … Continue reading
Ukraine: Tragedy of a Nation Divided
Just before Russia invaded Ukraine, I drafted a comment on the situation which describes some of the events and factors that contributed to the war that has gone on now for nearly eight months. The Russian invasion and the war … Continue reading
When Intelligence Organizations Make Policy …
Last night, when I was casually browsing in a copy of my Autopsy on an Empire that I had taken off the shelf to give a friend, I ran into the following passage on page 175: Chebrikov’s Xenophobia Throughout 1987 … Continue reading
MUSINGS III … Celebrating July 4
America “goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” (John Quincy Adams) It was long a family tradition to read the Declaration of Independence at breakfast on July 4. We found that an appropriate way to start the day … Continue reading
Musings II … The “Intelligence Community,” “Russian Interference,” and Due Diligence
Did the U.S. “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election? Most commentators seem to think so. Every news report I have read of the planned meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in July refers to “Russian … Continue reading
MUSINGS … “RUSSIAGATE” HYSTERIA
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. That saying—often attributed to Euripides, though not found in his extant writings–comes to mind most mornings when I bring in the home-delivered New York Times and read the headlines of the … Continue reading
Contacts with Russian Embassy
Our press seems to be in a feeding frenzy regarding contacts that President Trump’s supporters had with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak and with other Russian diplomats. The assumption seems to be that there was something sinister about these contacts, just … Continue reading
Iran, Israel and The Treaty: Wisdom of Uri Avnery
Uri Avnery remains a voice of reason and wisdom in the cacophony of arguments following the announcement of the agreement to limit and monitor Iran’s nuclear activities. His informed (by history), erudite but straightforward comment is the most valuable I … Continue reading
William Polk’s “A Fable for Our Times”
Inspired by Cervantes, William Polk has written a trenchant and appropriate description of our contemporary Don Quixotes and Sancho Panzas. Read, laugh, and then weep. A Fable for Our Times It was over half a century ago that I first … Continue reading