By Ian Proud on Jan 06, 2025 12:05 am Robin Brooks, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, took to X recently to declare that "there needs to be a ban on any academic papers that interpret Russia’s resilient GDP as a sign that sanctions aren’t working." I found it remarkable that he should acknowledge the unexpected resilience of Russia’s economy yet try to disbar analysis which might suggest, therefore, that sanctions had failed. Read in browser »
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos on Jan 04, 2025 10:37 am
The Pentagon addressed questions regarding reports this week about the U.S. military moving construction materials into Kobani, a city in northeastern Syria close to Turkey's border, ostensibly to help its long time partners, the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces, stave off attacks by the Turks. Read in browser »
By Kelley Beaucar Vlahos on Jan 03, 2025 07:28 am
Part of the so-called Washington swamp is the opacity of the funding going to powerful think tanks that provide policymaking expertise to Capitol Hill, to White House staff, and to agencies, including the Pentagon and State Department. It is no secret that the think tanks that have an outsized influence on foreign policy and national security affairs receive grants from the government to conduct studies and research to the tune of millions of dollars a year. Meanwhile, these organizations get tons of funding from the military contractors who stand to benefit from those reports and research in support of American war policy. Read in browser »
By Robert E. Hunter on Jan 02, 2025 06:23 am With his passing on December 30, former President Jimmy Carter made his last great gift to the nation. In the outpouring of retrospectives on both his presidency and his unmatched “post-presidency,” we are reminded of what a president both can and should be in human and personal terms, plus moral leadership basic to American society. Read in browser »
Robin Brooks, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, 
The Pentagon addressed questions regarding reports this week about the U.S. military moving construction materials into Kobani, a city in northeastern Syria close to Turkey's border, ostensibly to help its long time partners, the Kurdish-led Syrian Defense Forces, stave off attacks by the Turks.
Part of the so-called Washington swamp is the opacity of the funding going to powerful think tanks that provide policymaking expertise to Capitol Hill, to White House staff, and to agencies, including the Pentagon and State Department. It is no secret that the think tanks that have an outsized influence on foreign policy and national security affairs receive grants from the government to conduct studies and research to the tune of millions of dollars a year. Meanwhile, these organizations get tons of funding from the military contractors who stand to benefit from those reports and research in support of American war policy.
With his passing on December 30, former President Jimmy Carter made his last great gift to the nation. In the outpouring of retrospectives on both his presidency and his unmatched “post-presidency,” we are reminded of what a president both can and should be in human and personal terms, plus moral leadership basic to American society.