Tag Archives: Ukraine

Stephen F. Cohen Disgraces Himself … Again

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on August 16, 2014

Also cross-posted at the Gerasites blog

Stephen F. Cohen

Stephen F. Cohen

Since the Ukraine crisis began earlier this year, Stephen Cohen has acquired quite the reputation for apologetics for the Putin dictatorship and its aggression against Ukraine. Cohen, a scholar of Russia, especially the Bolshevik Revolution, has printed most of his pieces in support of Vladimir Putin in The Nation, a magazine edited by his wife Katrina vanden Heuvel. Now he has done so again. Credit where it is due: each salvo has been more hysterical than the last. Continue reading

Obama Doubles-Down On His Foreign Policy At West Point

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on May 28, 2014

President Obama Delivers Commencement Address At West Point

It was to be expected that this would be a bad speech. Attacked from all sides President Barack Obama was going to have to push back and that was always going to make the speech defensive. As usual, the President ploughed bravely into a battalion of straw men: positing extremes then selecting a cool middle way. But it was so much worse than that. The tone was not the problem; the content was. Continue reading

A Tetchy Defence of a Bad Foreign Policy

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on May 7, 2014

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A little over a week ago, President Obama was asked in the Philippines about his foreign policy. It was a rather complex question that asked for Obama’s “vision,” “doctrine,” and “guiding principle“—and also how he “answer[s] those critics who say they think the doctrine is weakness.” The President gave a 949-word answer. To say that it was defensive, disingenuous, and wrong-headed would be to say the least of it. Continue reading

From Syria To Ukraine, Obama Has Conceded To Putin

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on April 22, 2014

In the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea last month, The New York Times has reported on the tactics of subversion and provocation the Kremlin used to destabilise and ultimately conquer parts of Ukraine:

Continue reading

Can Hillary Run Against Obama’s Foreign Policy?

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on March 22, 2014

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton listens to U.S. President Obama speak during a meeting with members of his cabinet in Washington

A recent article in the National Journal suggested that Hillary Clinton is beginning to position herself for the 2016 Presidential run. Headlined, ‘Hillary Clinton Steps Away From Obama on Foreign Policy,’ the main point was made. Continue reading