Few if any contenders for foreign policy positions in the Biden administration surpass Burns when it comes to appreciating one tenet of progressive realism: military interventions have a way of leading to bad things.
AP: Biden chooses veteran diplomat Burns as CIA director
APJanuary 12, 2021
William Burns, a well-known figure in diplomatic circles around the world, is President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to lead the CIA, a selection likely to be embraced by the rank and file at the nation’s premier spy agency.
William J. Perry and Tom Z. Collina: Trump Still Has His Finger on the Nuclear Button. This Must Change.
politicoJanuary 11, 2021
The time has come to take the nuclear football away from this president – and all the presidents that come after him.
Beatrice Fihn: How to implement the nuclear weapons ban treaty
BOASJanuary 11, 2021
I think it’s really important to delegitimize nuclear weapons and devalue them. We’ve almost created this mythical perspective on these weapons, that they somehow are safeguarding the world and that they somehow have all these magical attributes, which isn’t true. It’s just a really giant radioactive bomb. It’s not magic, it’s not special.
Institute for Public Accuracy: Biden Nominates Victoria Nuland to #3 Position at State Department
sam husseni/James CardenJanuary 8, 2021
James W. Carden tells IPA’s Sam Husseni that, “As Biden’s undersecretary of political affairs, Nuland would have immense influence over policy and personnel. Progressives in Congress and their partners in the media, think tank world and among grassroots activists should join forces with the growing caucus of anti-interventionist Republicans on the Hill and vigorously oppose this nomination.”
Joe Cirincione: Why the US wastes billions on nuclear weapons it doesn’t need
RSJanuary 8, 2021
There’s a myth in Washington that America’s nuclear posture is developed though sober consideration of complex strategic imperatives. There are risks, we are told, but we need thousands of nuclear weapons to keep America safe. They are our ultimate security. Wise men (it is almost always men) have objectively arrived at the minimum necessary deterrent based on decades of tested theory and practice.
E. Martin Schotz, MD: Applying ‘The Great Rule’ in International Relations
ACEWAJanuary 8, 2021
I want to take you on a thought experiment, in which we will attempt to use ‘The Great Rule’ as a lens to examine a problem in international relations. The problem I want to address is international cooperation and understanding in eliminating nuclear weapons.
M. K. Bhadrakumar: US risks confrontation with Russia
indianpunchlineJanuary 7, 2021
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov recently remarked that Moscow expects nothing good in relations with a “deeply hostile” US under the incoming administration of Joe Biden…
Ray McGovern: Why Michael Morell Cannot Be CIA Director
consortium newsJanuary 7, 2021
As President-elect Joe Biden names his cabinet and other chief advisers, what has escaped wide attention is the fact that none of his hawkish national security advisers – except for his nominee for defense secretary, Gen. Lloyd Austin – has served in the military.
David Swanson: Top 10 Questions for Neera Tanden
davidswanson.orgJanuary 7, 2021
You sought to delegitimize the 2016 U.S. presidential election, not with serious documented complaints, but with baseless claims that the Russian government infiltrated and manipulated the vote counting. Did you believe those claims? Do you believe them now? Do you take any responsibility for the large numbers of other people who believe them now?