From National Journal regarding “smart power” and the Syrian situation. For months stretching back to the bloom of the Arab spring, the Obama administration has resisted explicitly calling for the ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, even as the body count in his bloody crackdown on protesters mounted to nearly 2,000. As recently as Wednesday, [...]
Archive for August 20, 2011
Lead From Behind Gives Way To Smart Power
Posted: August 20, 2011 in Songs of Space and Nuclear WarTags: International Institutions, Smart Power, Syria
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Regulatory Capture In The Wild
Posted: August 20, 2011 in Songs of Space and Nuclear WarTags: Crony Capitalsm, NASA, Regulatory Capture, SLS
Normally, I have little sympathy for NASA. But when the Senate starts prescribing their material solutions, that’s quite out of bounds. Fighting trousers? Technical foul? No, a red card. Senators who agree that NASA is taking too long to develop a design and procurement strategy for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) that Congress ordered [...]
Global Zero, Anyone?
Posted: August 20, 2011 in Songs of Space and Nuclear WarTags: Belarus, Nuclear Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Russia, State Department
Belarus, who had agreed to surrender its weapon-grade uranium to Russia, has decided to pull out of the deal. Why? The reverse is said to be “in response to new economic penalties imposed by the United States.” The State Department earlier this month announced that four government-operated Belarusian firms were now prohibited from operating in [...]
