david e. sanger

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, Dictatorship, Donald Trump, History, human rights, India, Intelligence, Joe Biden, Kurds, NATO, Nuclear Proliferation, Pakistan, syria, Turkey, U.S. Military, Vladimir Putin April 21, 2021

Biden’s disastrous decision to withdraw all troops from Afghanistam–with links to best opinion pieces

The decision to surrender to the Taliban and abandon our Afghan allies and supporters is among the most craven and dastardly decisions in U.S. military and foreign policy history. One searches in history for a decision of such dishonorable magnitude.

The comparison that comes to mind is the agreement by Neville Chamberlain of England and Ėdouard Daladier of France with Adolf Hitler at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria in October, 1938. The agreement, known as the Munich Pact, has become synonymous with betrayal and appeasement

That will be Joe Biden’s legacy, unless he changes course, which seems unlikely.

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Bahrain, Donald Trump, Egypt, History, International Law, Israel, Middle East, Qatar, religious belief, Saudi Arabia, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, UAE, United Nations, vision of peace January 29, 2020

Kushner / Trump peace plan for Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Updated February 4, 2020)

UPDATE The Arab League has unanimously rejected the Trump/Kushner peace plan. The EU has rejected it, See, Louis Imbert et Benjamin Barthe, “Les pays arabes,…

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Barack Obama, Crimea, Crimes Against Humanity, History, human rights, International Law, Middle East, Russia, Saudi Arabia, State Department, syria, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, Ukraine, United States, use of force, Vladimir Putin, war crimes February 10, 2016

Syria: Aleppo and the shame of the world

For background, see (1) Roger Cohen, “America’s Syrian Shame,” The New York Times, February 8, 2016. (2) David E. Sanger, “Russian Intervention in Syrian War…

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Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, human rights, Intelligence, International Law, Justice Department, NATO, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, Taliban, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, Torture, U.N. Charter, U.S. Intervention, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes July 4, 2012

The Obama Leaks: The issue is not the leaks, but whether the president lied to the American people

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” –William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, scene II The key question relating to the so-called “national security leaks” (“or…

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Afghanistan, Barack Obama, CIA, extrajudicial execution, International Law, Lebanon, Mossad, NATO, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, self-defense, State Department, State Department Legal Adviser, syria, targeted assassinations, targeted killings, U.N. Charter, U.N. Security Council, U.S. Military, United States, use of force, war crimes June 6, 2012

Foreign policy incompetence; further opinion on President Obama as “Executioner in Chief”

[Please check back for updates.] See The Trenchant Observer, “More news and opinion on President Obama as ‘Executioner in Chief,’” June 3, 2012 (Updated June…