“Make no mistake — democracy is on the ballot for us all.” So declaiming in his Union Station speech to the nation on the real stakes in the 2022 elections, President Joe Biden, who was immediately echoed by Barack Obama, painted himself and his party into a corner. For if Trump Republicans carry the day Tuesday, Biden will have to declare, if there is any consistency left in him, a “defeat for democracy” and a victory for the party that he has said is steeped in “semi-fascism.” Assume, for the sake of argument, a GOP capture of the House of…

On December 7, the European Commission proposed a new sanctions package to coerce Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine. After the previous eight sanctions packages, the costs of the sanctions regime for Europe are mounting. With winter approaching and temperatures dropping, and as a direct consequence of severing trade with Russia, Europe is preparing for electricity outages, a lack of lighting and heat, and temporary cuts in internet and mobile service. Yet the war continues, with Russia escalating to a campaign of missile strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Indeed, it is the collective nature of the sanctions—the process of their development and implementation—that allows Russia…

President Joe Biden visited Northeast Asia last month. As if possible involvement in a European nuclear conflagration wasn’t enough, he threatened China with war over Taiwan, and pledged to defend the Republic of Korea from its northern antagonist. Now he is off to the Middle East, apparently ready to make security promises to the Medieval Gulf dictatorships of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. One is left wondering how many wars the President wants to wage at once! Fighting a conventional conflict is bad enough. But for what should this or any President be willing to risk the American…

Noam Chomsky once wrote that the astronomical cost of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, estimated into trillions of dollars, is a major victory for Osama bin Laden, whose announced goal was to bankrupt America by drawing it into a trap. The Ukraine war too was planned as a trap for Russia. No one other than the the Bill Clinton administration’s point person for Russia, Strobe Talbot tweeted early this year when Russia’s special military operations began congratulating President Biden’s foreign policy team — Victoria Nuland, Antony Blinken and JakeSullivan — for having successfully cornered Russia. Talbot didn’t call it a…

The international community has gathered this week in Egypt for the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP27) and will be discussing a range of issues including loss and damage, climate finance, adaptation and mitigation over the next two weeks. This year’s COP27 is being held in the aftermath of Pakistan’s disastrous summer floods, which led to the announcement that Pakistan’s Prime Minster Shahbaz Sharif will serve as vice-chair of the summit. This — combined with Pakistan’s presidency of the G77 this year — has afforded Pakistan a significant place on the international stage to make its case for continued support toward post-flood recovery…