A European Plea to Biden

Photo credit: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno.

I admire America and feel nothing but deep respect and gratitude for it. Yes, I’m familiar with the reservations among many in Europe, ranging from Vietnam to Guantanamo, from the death penalty to the right to bear arms, from Afghanistan to the second Iraq war. My feelings for America are stronger. That’s because they are […]

A Joint American-Israeli Redline on Iran’s Nuclear Program

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei visits the Iranian centrifuges in Tehran, June 11, 2023. Photo credit: via REUTERS

A central element of the new film Oppenheimer is time. The time needed to design and construct the ultimate weapon is marked through the steady accumulation of marbles in a fishbowl and a wine glass, which represent the growing stockpiles of uranium and plutonium that ultimately fueled the devices dropped seventy-eight years ago on Hiroshima […]

The Shrinking US Defense Budget: Its Washington Politics and Outlook for the Coming Year

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (center), and Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense (left), testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the proposed 2024 defense budget. Photo credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Congress has never had an easy time passing defense budgets. Despite partisan bickering, however, the Congress has successfully passed 62 consecutive defense authorization acts, including for the current year.     The upcoming year’s budget appears to be a troubling exception. Sadly, the best-case scenario is for a defense budget that will be reduced for a time […]