Bush Administration

The Deficit Debacle

It has long been fashionable in foreign capitals to criticize the Bush administration for not showing more economic leadership in cutting its budget deficit. But what would happen if the United States got serious about putting its economic house in order? The political bloodletting and instability that would ensue would make the world wish it had kept quiet.

BY GERARD BAKER | MARCH 1, 2005

Inside the Committee that Runs the World

September 11, 2001, was a catalytic event that revealed the core character of the Bush administration's national security team. As rival factions fought for the president's ear, the transformative ideals espoused by the neocons gained ascendancy -- triggering a rift that has split the Republican foreign-policy establishment to its foundations.

BY DAVID J. ROTHKOPF | MARCH 1, 2005

Devour and Conquer

How the White House got its termite problem.

BY MOISÉS NAÍM | NOVEMBER 1, 2004

Generally Political

NOVEMBER 1, 2004

Man of the People

NOVEMBER 1, 2004

Powell Valediction

Secretary of State Colin Powell has always believed in alliances and quiet diplomacy -- except when it comes to dealing with his colleagues in the Bush administration.

BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS | NOVEMBER 1, 2004

Think Again: Bush's Foreign Policy

Not since Richard Nixon's conduct of the war in Vietnam has a U.S. president's foreign policy so polarized the country -- and the world. Yet as controversial as George W. Bush's policies have been, they are not as radical a departure from his predecessors as both critics and supporters proclaim. Instead, the real weaknesses of the president's foreign policy lie in its contradictions: Blinded by moral clarity and hamstrung by its enormous military strength, the United States needs to rebalance means with ends if it wants to forge a truly effective grand strategy.

BY MELVYN P. LEFFLER | SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

Hating America

BY FAREED ZAKARIA | SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

Spreading Democracy

BY ERIC J. HOBSBAWM | SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

Election Observer

How does the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign appear to a non-American? To find out, FP recently chatted with Chidanand Rajghatta, the Times of India's Washington-based foreign editor. The Bangalore native has covered the United States for several Indian publications during the last decade.

SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

21 Rationales for War

SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

Minority Report

SEPTEMBER 1, 2004

Bush's Willing Enablers

Who outside the administration is to blame for the turmoil in Iraq? The list is long.

BY MOISÉS NAÍM | JULY 1, 2004

Imperial Amnesia

The United States invaded a distant country to share the blessings of democracy. But after being welcomed as liberators, U.S. troops encountered a bloody insurrection. Sound familiar? Don't think Iraq -- think the Philippines and Mexico decades ago. U.S. President George W. Bush and his advisors have embarked on a historic mission to change the world. Too bad they ignored the lessons of history.

BY JOHN B. JUDIS | JULY 1, 2004

Think Again: Mercenaries

"How is it in our nation's interest," asked U.S. Sen. Carl Levin recently, "to have civilian contractors, rather than military personnel, performing vital national security functions... in a war zone?" The answer lies in humanity's long history of contracting force and the changing role of today's private security firms. Even as governments debate how to hold them accountable, these hired guns are rapidly becoming indispensable to national militaries, private corporations, and non-governmental groups across the globe.

BY DEBORAH AVANT | JULY 1, 2004

In Hindsight: First Terms

As U.S. President George W. Bush's first term draws to a close, FP dips into its archive for a look at first terms of the past. 

JULY 1, 2004

Meet George W. Kerry

Why John Kerry's foreign policy would emulate George W. Bush's -- and vice versa.

BY MOISÉS NAÍM | MAY 1, 2004

Voice of a Superpower

The 2004 U.S. presidential election may be the first in decades to center on the candidates' foreign-policy views. So what do most Americans really think about Iraq, terrorism, North Korea, and free trade? Herewith an "interview" with the American people, with each answer reflecting majority positions in recent opinion polls. Americans' surprising preferences offer insight into what voters want from their next president.

BY STEVEN KULL | MAY 1, 2004

Bush Throws a Party

How does U.S. President George W. Bush's preelection spending binge stack up against history?

BY KENNETH ROGOFF | MARCH 1, 2004

Too Much Vision Thing

Excerpts from U.S. President George W. Bush's speech on freedom in Iraq and the Middle East at the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy on Nov. 6, 2003.

JANUARY 1, 2004

Iraq's False Promises

If you want to understand why the Bush administration invaded Iraq, read Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, not the National Security Strategy of the United States. Only the twisted logic of dreams can explain why the United States thinks that the aggressive pursuit of contradictory goals -- promoting democracy, affirming U.S. hegemony, and ensuring stable energy supplies -- will produce success.

BY SLAVOJ ZIZEK | JANUARY 1, 2004

Think Again: Neocons

A cabal of neoconservatives has hijacked the Bush administration's foreign policy and transformed the world's sole superpower into a unilateral monster. Say what? In truth, stories about the "neocon" ascendancy -- and the group's insidious intent to wage preemptive wars across the globe -- have been much exaggerated. And by telling such tall tales, critics have twisted the neocons' identities and thinking on U.S. foreign policy into an unrecognizable caricature.

BY MAX BOOT | JANUARY 1, 2004

Tony Blair Needs a Hug

BY PETER RIDDELL | NOVEMBER 1, 2003

The Compulsive Empire

Worried about the aggressive and unilateral exercise of U.S. power around the world today? Fine -- just don't blame U.S. President George W. Bush, September 11, or some shadowy neoconservative cabal. Nations enjoying unrivaled global power have always defined their national interests in increasingly expansive terms. Resisting this historical mission creep is the greatest challenge the United States faces today.

BY ROBERT JERVIS | JULY 1, 2003

Foreign Disservice

BY NEWT GINGRICH | JULY 1, 2003

Rogue State Department

Anti-American sentiment is rising unabated around the globe because the U.S. State Department has abdicated values and principles in favor of accommodation and passivity. Only a top-to-bottom reform and culture shock will enable the State Department to effectively spread U.S. values and carry out President George W. Bush's foreign policy.

BY NEWT GINGRICH | JULY 1, 2003

Grading the President: A View From Western Europe

BY CHRISTOPH BERTRAM | JULY 1, 2003

Grading the President: A View From Southeast Asia

BY KARIM RASLAN | JULY 1, 2003

Grading the President: A View From South Asia

BY PRATAP BHANU MEHTA | JULY 1, 2003

Grading the President: A View From Russia

BY DIMITRI K. SIMES | JULY 1, 2003