The Russian Nuclear Danger

What Russia Says About Nuclear Weapons And What It Means, with Robert Seely PhD MP and Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, 19fortyfive March 14, 2023. "Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime has consistently signaled that the Ukraine War could trigger Moscow’s use of nuclear weapons. After a lull in threats toward the end of last year, possibly due to China exerting its influence over the Kremlin, those threats are on the rise again. At the end of February, former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev said the world faces a nuclear apocalypse if the West continues to arm Ukraine with advanced weaponry."

The Inoculation Effect

Why Syria Felt Emboldened to Use Deadly Gas, Newsday, April 15, 2018. "Despite their fearsome reputation, most weapons of mass destruction — even the conventional ones — are not used often. Like a vaccine, their first use seems to inoculate the world against further uses. But in Syria — struck by Western missiles early Saturday — the inoculation effect against poison gas has been failing. And so is the U.S. policy that contributed to it."

Which Way Does the Wind Blow Today?

Barack Obama’s A Finger-In-The-Wind Policy on Syria, Newsday, August 31, 2013. "As Karl Marx observed, when history repeats itself, it’s tragedy the first time and farce the second. If the Iraq War was the tragedy, then Syria is certainly the farce. The White House is still agonizing about whether it will launch missile strikes on Syria. As its nightmare of consideration continues, it should remember something: If you want to use military force, you are practically and morally obligated to think about what you are trying to achieve with it."

Bet He Wishes He Hadn't Said That

Obama’s ‘Red Line’ Comes Back to Trip Him, Newsday, April 26, 2013. "Last August, President Barack Obama called the use of chemical weapons a “red line.” He now faces a hard choice: Admit his red line was phony or intervene in a conflict he has sought to avoid."