Tag : Tom Squitieri
Architects without Umbrellas
For decades there have been conversations, tough questions, “ah-ha” moments, deep insights and common sense shared in one-on-one exchanges with John Kerry and Chuck Hagel. In all those times interacting with them, watching them, analyzing them, not one umbrella has been spotted. These men are not appeasers or pleasers. They are not those who seekRead moreMr. Assad, meet Mr. Milosevic….
Bashar Assad, let me introduce you to Slobodan Milosevic. Technically, you cannot shake his hand – at least today. Milosevic died in his cell in The Hague, after the nation that he led into war and ruin emerged to form a tentative democracy. The new Yugoslav leadership traded Milosevic for economic and political benefits withRead moreThe Old Geezer returns, thank goodness
After a few years of absence, sadly, the Old Geezer returns with all his wisdom to help me understand in my traditional end-of-year column: There are automatic lights where my office is now. You walk in the room, the lights come on. Then, if there is no movement for a period of time, they go out.Read moreBorder Crossing Euphoria
That perfect moment of the triumph of the people happened again in Syria. The rebels captured another border crossing between Syria and Turkey, lowering the Syrian flag and raising their own banner. It is a symbolic moment of victory – and in a bloody civil war abundant with various factions and no real positive endgameRead moreAs we thought. Not.
We are now deep into year two of the Arab world convulsions. Not one country across the North African-Middle East arc is settled. Even where it sounds quiet it is not. Two years from the first cry of freedom, very few things are how the outside world predicted. As Egyptians vote for their president inRead moreLatina Leadership
Miami Herald International Edition op-ed, June 2, 2012 Josefina Vázquez Mota is not giving up. As Mexico’s first female presidential candidate, she is counting on a last minute “trajectory” that will propel her back into the lead and, ideally, through one more glass ceiling in another Latin American nations. To read the full op-ed, pleaseRead moreBad moon rising again, this time over Syria
There were many dangers faced by reporters during the four-year Bosnia war. Gunfire. Freezing. Food poisoning. Checkpoints manned by drugged out crazies. Yet one fear stood out, and it was usually away from the fighting. That was going to Zenica, a city in the central part of the area controlled by the Bosnian government. TheRead moreBen’s Words of Advice
The American Revolution and the broad romantic view of U.S. democracy have often provided inspiration and guidance to those seeking democracy in their own nations – and for good reason. The amazing set of circumstances that made the American Revolution spark and then succeed, the lofty words of human rights that fueled the new governmentRead moreDancing With Wolves
You hear many words of wisdom traveling through the Mideast, all which offer insightful pondering to events past and present. Watching the tragic escalation of events in Syria and the failing efforts to bring the fighting to a close bring to mind words often spoken by the Kurds of the region, who are well-versed inRead moreNo Scarves. No Solution
The world has found a way to strike back at Syrian President Bashar Assad: they have slapped travel sanctions on his London-born wife, Asma, to thwart her addiction to luxury shopping. One year into Assad’s churning assault against various opposition groups, stopping his wife from shoping in Europe is one of the few things theRead moreKarzai Hat, No Takers
The bloom has long been off the Karzai hat as Afghanistan becomes worse and worse. Right after U.S. forces went into Afghanistan in 2001 — in those heady “Paris 1944” days of liberating Kabul and most of the country — one of my best friends put to me an urgent request. Knowing I was enRead moreThe NATO Moment of Truth Faces the Arab League
It took NATO 46 years and eight months before it intervened with military force to protect innocent civilians from harm and manage a conflict on its periphery. Can we truly expect the Arab League to move any quicker in dealing with problems in its neighborhood? Probably not. When NATO finally heeded the call from thoseRead more