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SHAFR Opinion

Why Do We Fight in Afghanistan?

by Susan Brewer

More people have been asking that question lately. For years Americans have been told that despite setbacks we are making progress there. Making progress toward what, people wonder. What is the mission of the United States in Afghanistan? After more than a decade since the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom, it is worth revisiting what [...]

Posted in Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Biographies / Memoirs / Diaries, Central Asia, George W. Bush administration: 2001-2008, United States | No Comments »

A Center-Left Leader, Missed Opportunities, and Anti-Americanism: A Possible new Direction in U.S. Policy Towards the Western Hemisphere?

by James Siekmeier

I received an email from a former colleague and friend of mine recently who concluded that Lula’s (Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva) two terms in office as President of Brazil (2003-2010) represented a missed opportunity for the United States–and United States-Latin American relations in general. Here was a center-left leader, in one of the world’s [...]

Posted in Americas, Brazil, South America, Uncategorized | No Comments »

A New Cold War at the Water’s Edge?

by Andrew Johnstone

An essential rule for politicians: always make sure the microphone is off.  On March 26 at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Barack Obama was overheard discussing missile defence with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev. With an open mic, Obama told Medvedev “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”[1] Russia currently [...]

Posted in Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Domestic politics, Mitt Romney, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Ronald Reagan administration: 1981-1989, Russia | No Comments »

Is the System the Solution? Past Policies, Current Dilemmas, and Inter-American Relations in the 21st Century

by James Siekmeier

More than 20 years have passed since the last full-fledged U.S. military intervention in Latin America (Panama, 1989, in case your memories are hazy).  Starting in the 1980s, democratization flowered in the region for numerous reasons—but mostly internal reasons based in Latin American history and society. Starting in the 1990s, with the end of the [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Visions of War

by Susan Brewer

On December 15th President Barack Obama welcomed home U.S. troops from a war he once had called “dumb.” His speech avoided the reasons why the Iraq War was fought and focused instead on honoring the American servicemen and women who fought it.  Inspiring words–“extraordinary achievement,” “honor,” “sacrifice,” “finest fighting force,” “unbroken line of heroes,” “progress [...]

Posted in Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Iraq, Iraq War: 2003-present, Middle East, Post-9/11: 2001-present | No Comments »

Newt Gingrich and the (ab)Uses of History

by Andrew Johnstone

It is an honor to join the SHAFR blogging team for 2011-12.  While SHAFR is (as the name makes perfectly clear) a society that focuses on the history of American foreign relations, there is no doubt that we are as well placed as anyone to make connections between historical events and contemporary issues in American [...]

Posted in Presidency, Public Opinion | No Comments »

Issues for the 2012 Presidential Election

by Nick Sarantakes

The United States of America is about to enter a presidential election year.  Actually, it already has entered the political season.  The election of 2012 will most likely turn on economics, but as Andy Johns pointed out in his blog, foreign policy is always important and next year’s contest will be no different.  In addition, [...]

Posted in Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, China, India, Middle East, North Korea, Pakistan, Policymaking--American | No Comments »

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Weekly Digest – 10/19/09

by Nick Ducote
Monday, October 19th, 2009

As the U.S. postpones a decision on Afghanistan, Gerald Posner reports on a new secret weapon in the arsenal of the Taliban and Al Qaeda: getting the Army addicted to their cheap heroin. [more]
President George H.W. Bush thought that after the victory in the Gulf war we had “kicked the Vietnam syndrome once and for [...]

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Posted in Around the Web, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Early Cold War: 1945-1961, George W. Bush administration: 2001-2008, Horn of Africa, International Organizations, Internationl law and treaties, John Kennedy administration: 1961-1963, Late Cold War: 1961-1991, Lyndon Johnson administration: 1963-1969, Military affaris, Nuclear policy & WMD, Policymaking--International, Post-9/11: 2001-present, Presidency, Public Opinion, Richard Nixon administration: 1969-1974, Sudan, Terrorism, Trade policy | No Comments »

Weekly Digest – 9/28/09

by Nick Ducote
Monday, September 28th, 2009

The new “must-read book” for President Obama’s war team is “Lessons in Disaster” by Gordon M. Goldstein.  This book’s intimate account of White House decision-making is almost literally being replayed in Washington (with Holbrooke himself as a principal actor) as the new president sets a course for the war in Afghanistan. [more]
President Barack Obama’s week [...]

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Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Around the Web, Barack Obama administration: 2009-present, Honduras, International Economic Relations, International Organizations, Internationl law and treaties, Iran, John Kennedy administration: 1961-1963, Late Cold War: 1961-1991, Lyndon Johnson administration: 1963-1969, Pakistan, Peace and dissent, Presidency, Russia, State Department, Terrorism, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Weekly Digest — 2/5/09

by Jared Regan
Thursday, February 5th, 2009

Historical thinking about current foreign relations:
China’s Military Modernization. Vietnam War Crimes. U.S. Communications Embargo on Cuba. America’s position within the International Monetary Fund. Will existing international financial agreements prevail?

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Posted in Afghanistan, Afghanistan War: 2001-present, Anti-War Efforts, Around the Web, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, Central America & Caribbean, Central Asia, China, Congress, Cuba, East Asia, European Union, Financial Policies, Foreign aid, Homeland security, Human Rights, India, Indochina, Indonesia, International Economic Relations, International Trade and Economics, Internationl law and treaties, Japan, Late Cold War: 1961-1991, Military affaris, Modernization, National Security, New Zealand, North Korea, Nuclear policy & WMD, Oceania, Pakistan, Philippines, Policymaking--American, Policymaking--International, South America, South Korea, Southeast Asia, State Department, Taiwan, Thailand, Trade policy, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Vietnam: 1945-1961, Vietnam: 1961-1975, Western Europe, World Trade Organization | No Comments »

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