William Pfaff

Greece Trap

William Pfaff

The Undemocratic Politics Of Austerity

Leaving Afghanistan

William Pfaff

The Afghan government's order a week ago to the U.S. to close its prison at Bagram Air Base near Kabul, where it holds unidentified prisoners, came as a shock to Washington, although President Karzai has before asked the U.S. to cease operations because of what he considered infringements upon Afghan sovereignty.

Containment Breach

William Pfaff

The great economic crisis has given birth to a smaller and tighter monetary union in Europe, under the influence of a Germany that is undergoing a certain estrangement from its European partners. This amounts to a possibly dangerous wager on what the European Union will ultimately become, which not everyone may like.

The 1-percent Problem

William Pfaff

How Americans can save themselves from plutocracy

The 1-percent Problem

William Pfaff

Can Americans Save Their Country from Plutocracy?

Occupying Force

William Pfaff

The only popular movements of modern times that made any difference to the United States were the civil-rights campaign and the anti-Vietnam-War demonstrations of the 1960s. Not even the Great Depression produced a popular protest that changed anything. What will Occupy Wall Street accomplish?

Obama's Gordian Knot

William Pfaff

Will the United States ever leave Afghanistan?

Beyond Empire

William Pfaff

Could Turkey lead Europe out of a tumultuous century?

Every Nation for Itself

William Pfaff

The series of Arab uprisings during the past two months have yet to complete their destruction of what, since shortly after World War II, had seemed a fixed oppressive political order in the Muslim states of the Middle East and Central Asia, overseen by the United States.

Alone Again

William Pfaff

The growing irrelevance of American power

Lost Appetite

William Pfaff

Has America given up on land wars?

Democratic Awakening?

William Pfaff

There are many in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere who believe that the democratic awakening of the Arab nations will consolidate a predominantly democratic order for nearly all the major states, with the United States enjoying a respected leadership role. Nothing is less likely.

Chaos Theory

William Pfaff

Washington's confused response misses the mark on Egypt

The Battle for Egypt

William Pfaff

America should butt out

Regime Changes

William Pfaff

Dictatorships rarely end happily—for rulers or their people

Unenlightened Capitalism

William Pfaff

Are we committing economic suicide?

A Legacy of Exploitation

William Pfaff

Africa's slavery system survives

Lending Power

William Pfaff

Germans bankrolled the European Union's bailout of Greece. Now they want the EU's governing treaty to be changed to shield them and other better-off countries from shouldering such responsibilities alone. Could their buyer's remorse eventually undo the EU?

An Imbalance of Power

William Pfaff

The challenges facing Europe make America's Afghan problem look simple

The Honeymoon Is Over

William Pfaff

Why the French lost faith in Nicolas Sarkozy

Taking Responsibility

William Pfaff

Europe's Role in Obama's Mideast Negotiations

War Without End?

William Pfaff

During his recent tour of TV news programs, Petraeus suggested that sending troops home a year from now might be premature. Defense Secretary Gates then intervened to say that the promise given the president in 2009 by the military would be kept. Who's right?

Bad Neighbors?

William Pfaff

German intransigence could threaten Europe

Strategic Disarray

William Pfaff

The prospect of giving Afghanistan a functioning and competent democratic government and a new and functional army is slight. That was what the counterinsurgency doctrine drafted by Gen. Petraeus was supposed to do. It has rarely succeeded.

Generals Go and Come, and the War Worsens

William Pfaff

General McChrystal gets out just in time

Big, Pricey, Unrivaled

William Pfaff

American arms spending is supposed to make Americans safe from its problems, but that is not working. Congressional attempts to reduce military spending over the years have consistently failed because military spending is a politically irresistible cause, even when the results are irrational.

Does the EU Have a Future?

William Pfaff

The European Union doesn’t know where it stands at the moment. NATO thinks it knows and is gambling.

Existential Threats

William Pfaff

Lies have led the west into war again and again in the last century. Theories about the nuclear threat posed by Iran, and the need for a preemptive military response, could be the latest propaganda to have deadly consequences.

The Buck Starts Here

William Pfaff

Clash of Cultures

William Pfaff

  What is the price of "progress"?

The Nuclear Option

William Pfaff

Escape from Iraq

William Pfaff

Being & Doing

William Pfaff

Exporting Democracy

William Pfaff

  Because the United States was founded on Enlightenment ideas, and nationalism is usually connected to romantic notions of terrain, history, and a unique cultural experience, little is ordinarily said about American nationalism. But, of course, the United States is perhaps the most nationalistic society on earth.

Torturing prisoners

William Pfaff

American Destiny

William Pfaff

Torturing Prisoners

William Pfaff

Good cop, bad cop

William Pfaff

Free e-newsletter

More Information