Epstein Secrets

The United States voted against the Palestinians' 2012 bid in the United Nations General Assembly, and it blocked a similar effort in 2011 at the Security Council, arguing that negotiations with Israel were the only path to peace and statehood. Washington has also vigorously opposed Palestinian membership in

ed that in the 19th century. America does so today and will have to continue to do so even if Putin becomes a vegetarian pacifist. But get a grip, Mandelbaum said in an interview: "Putin is not some strange creature from the past. He is as much a product of globalization as Davos Man." Putin runs a petr

that while global economics does not eliminate geopolitics, it does indeed trump global geopolitics today. It's the key to trumping Putin, too. As Mandelbaum (my co-author on a previous work) explains in his book, it is not either-or. Geopolitics never went away, even as globalization has become more imp

ations "appear to have decided that, to better advance their own interests, they need to knock Washington down a peg or two." Especially on the UN Security Council, the two authoritarian powers will continue taking positions that reflect their interest in curtailing American influence and thwarting what they e

ry's political culture and getting age- old adversaries to reconcile. The primary foreign policy tools that served us so well in the cold war, said Mandelbaum, "guns, money, and rhetoric — simply don't work for these new tasks. It is like trying to open a can with a sponge." To help another country change

uperpower confrontation. Post-cold-war foreign policy today is largely about "affecting the internal composition and governance of states," added Mandelbaum, many of which in the Middle East are failing and threaten us more by their collapse into ungoverned regions — not by their strength or ability to p

rst administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The United States at first resisted U.N. pressure to stop construction there, vetoing two Security Council resolutions condemning building there. In recent years, Washington's stance has toughened. When in 2010 the Israeli government announced plans to

ide every autocracy is a democracy dying to get out, but that might not be true in the Middle East." It was true in Eastern Europe in 1989, added Mandelbaum, but there are two big differences between Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Many Eastern European countries had a recent liberal past to fall b

first administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The United States at first resisted •. pressure to stop construction there, vetoing two Security Council resolutions condemning building there. In recent years, Washington's stance has toughened. When in 2010 the Israeli government announced plans to b

nside every autocracy is a democracy dying to get out, but that might not be true in the Middle East." It was true in Eastern Europe in 1989, added Mandelbaum, but there are two big differences between Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Many Eastern European countries had a recent liberal past to fall ba