For Sale

A Cold War relic is on the auction block in Northern Ireland.  All I can say is at least you will know you are safe from a nuclear blast if you shut the doors.

Is the Cold War Back? Did it Ever Go Away?

I read blog posts from my mentors and former professors regularly.  Particularly I still read Dr. Saideman's Blog (Saideman's Semi-Spew) on a routine basis.  Usually some good stuff to think about and much that I find humorous in the presentation.  Yesterday he posted about a presentation he gave at a NATO Association of Canada conference.  Apparently the Russian representatives in the room were not thrilled with Steve's presentation. 

One line caught my attention.  "Anyhow, I realized that the Russians do a fine job of making me take hardline stances--that the cold war is back and we might as well remember the old playbook of tripwires and credible commitments."  So, I asked myself is the Cold War back?  For my two cents, I am not sure, particularly as I have been stressing to students for about 15 years the need to remove ourselves from Cold War mentality in determining security threats, security needs, and strategic planning.  Then I thought about my critique of U.S. foreign policy and strategic decision-making in the last 20+ years and realized that indeed most of the decision makers are Cold War bred.  So I ask now, did the Cold War ever end?

Trying Hard to Look Like Gary Cooper

Thanks Jerry Holbert for the laugh that I needed this gray, rainy morning. 

For my two cents, I have decided on my own limited anecdotal observations that Putin wants to reinstate the Cold War and that the leaders of the U.S. are perfectly willing to return to the Cold War.  Putin wants Russia to be relevant, the U.S. leadership doesn't know how to make that happen without feeling that they have given away being number one in the world.  Not to mention that we still have the PRC to interact with on a regular basis.  So, we return to our political comfort zones--was Mearsheimer correct, do we miss the Cold War?