The problem with “immaculate intervention”
George Friedman, chief executive of STRATFOR, the geopolitical intelligence company, highlights the illogic of humanitarian wars in an article for Real Clear World.
Friedman notes how defenders of humanitarian wars claim to be neutral, but they are not:
The doctrine [of humanitarian war] becomes less coherent in a civil war in which one ...
This week’s articles of note
“U.S. military not happy over Libya,” The Daily Beast, by Leslie H. Gelb
“On Libya’s revolutionary road,” The New York Times Magazine, by Robert F. Worth
“What is Samantha Power thinking?” National Review, by Matthew Shaffer
“More profits, fewer jobs,” Slate, by Annie Lowrey
“Moving while black,” The New ...
Reason versus emotion? It’s a false dichotomy
With its elevation of intuition over reason and the unconscious mind over rational thought, David Brooks’ new book is an explicit attack on Enlightenment values. It’s time we defended rationalism and passion.
Read my review of ...
Libya: moral blackmail trumps political debate
In his address to the nation, Obama cynically elevated the moral imperative over ‘nasty’ political criticisms.
Read my spiked article in full here.
On Obama’s Libya speech: moral blackmail doesn’t trump politics
President Obama’s address to the nation on Libya last night was lengthy, but it did not really put to rest the many questions that have been raised about the military intervention in that country. We are still not clear about the mission and the endgame, why Congress was not ...
This week’s articles of note
“Down the rabbit hole,” The American Interest, by Adam Garfinkle
“Taming Leviathan: a special report on the future of the state,” The Economist
“‘Earth Hour’ won’t change the world,” USA Today, by Bjorn Lomborg
“Superficial & sublime?” The New York Review of Books, by Garry Wills [Review of All ...
Video of the Babe
The New York Times reports today on the discovery of rare film footage showing baseball great Babe Ruth in 1927. Found in a basement in Illinois, the film shows Ruth “in his prime and shot from close range, sitting atop a ...
No panic over nuclear power in the US
The Pew Research Center finds that 52 percent of Americans are now opposed to the increased use of nuclear power, up from the 44 percent opposed before ...
The “Arab context” argument
Marc Lynch, professor at George Washington University and blogger for Foreign Policy, is one of the more thoughtful commentators. He has expressed reservations about the West’s intervention in Libya, but ultimately supports it.
In his post today, Lynch highlights the “Arab context”, which he says “is essential for understanding the logic ...
Benghazi billboard says it all
Apparently, not every Libyan rebel was asking the West to send in its military.
ABOUT SEAN COLLINS
I write about American current affairs for Spiked, the online magazine. I am a native New Yorker, and I divide my time between New York City and upstate New York.
In addition to articles for Spiked, The Australian and other publications, I contributed an essay, "BDS: Demonizing Israel, Destroying Free Speech," for the book Unsafe Space: The Crisis of Free Speech on Campus (2016). I also wrote a chapter on New York City's economy for the book London After Recession: A Fictitious Capital? (2012).
My writings have been cited in American Conservative, Arts & Letters Daily, the Financial Times, Fox News, the Huffington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, the New York Times, Real Clear Politics, and the Times of London, among other media.
For more about The American Situation site, go here.
