The Decade of Factionalism and the Search for Icons
Lyric of the week: “Stay in my corner, babe Stay in my corner, please Stay in my corner, babe I will fight for you if you fight for me too” –Dan Auerbach and the Arcs The New York Times columnist…
Michael Krepon
Why No Mushroom Clouds?
Quote of the week: “In order to know what is going to happen, one must know what has happened.” — Nicolo Machiavelli How have we managed to avoid mushroom clouds in warfare since 1945? Deterrence has to get credit, but…
Disruption and Regression
Quote of the week: “When Presidents become negotiators no escape routes are left for diplomacy. Concessions are irrevocable without dishonor. A stalemate stakes the personal prestige of the office; a mistake requires an admission of error. And since heads of…
Retirement
Quote of the week: “I do not intend to hide in the taiga (the woods).” — Mikhail Gorbachev, last telephone conversation with George Bush before announcing his resignation on Christmas Day, 1991. After thirty years with Stimson, it’s time for…
The Canonical Affirmation
Prophesy of the week: “Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have…
SALT I, Fifty Years On
Quote of the week: “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness… Have you no sense of decency, sir?” – Attorney Joseph Welch, addressing Senator Joseph McCarthy during the “Army-McCarthy” witch hunt hearings,…
Krasnoyarsk: The Antecedent to the INF Treaty Violation?
Quip of the week: “Who ya gonna believe, me or your own eyes?” — line by Chico Marx in “Duck Soup” Two former Soviet experts who played key roles in Cold War arms control negotiations, Aleksandr’ G. Savel’yev and Nikolay…
In Memoriam: Stephen Philip Cohen
Quote of the week: “This is the time for some hurtful truths.” — Stephen Philip Cohen, Preface, The Future of Pakistan Appreciations of a life well lived deserve to be in the present tense. A body fails. A spirit released…
Norm Building and Tear Downs
Lyric of the week: We’re all skating on the thinnest of ice Gotta take it as it comes In a world that isn’t so very nice Gotta take it as it comes Any day now the curtain may fall All…
All Roads Lead to Putin
Quote of the week: “The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.”–William F. Buckley, Jr. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s memorable retort to Donald Trump’s October 16th meltdown in the White House — “All roads with you lead to…
