[Chicago Tribune] Trump confronts NATO’s free riders

NATO is a 28-nation alliance built on the premise that an attack on one member is an attack on every member. That’s a healthy dose of reassurance in a world where terrorism and Russia pose menacing threats. Yet 23 of those countries don’t pay their fair share for that NATO protection.　The US bears most of the burden for propping up NATO, a longstanding disparity previous administrations, including Barack Obama’s, have groused about but never tackled. Until last week, when the Trump team gave its

Feb. 21, 2017

[Bloomberg] Trump’s immigration raids aren’t the problem

By one measure, President Donald Trump’s immigration policy is one-third as harsh as his predecessor’s -- but it has generated at least as much if not more controversy. This is unfortunate, both because this particular controversy is unjustified and because it distracts from bigger problems.Federal agents made 680 arrests in a series of immigration raids last week, sparking shock and alarm among immigrant communities that mass deportations are in the offing. Yet that number was one-third of the

Feb. 20, 2017

[Tony Karon ] Trump and the rebirth of press freedom

US President Donald Trump’s administration has shocked the mainstream press by bullying news outlets and unabashedly trafficking in “alternative facts” (also known as lies). But Trump’s challenge to the media status quo may not be an entirely bad thing: journalists now have an opportunity to root out the bad habits associated with cozying up to those in power.Trump’s chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, drew gasps recently when he told the New York Times that the news media represent “the oppositio

Feb. 20, 2017

[Browne, Ischinger, Ivanov and Nunn] Ensuring Euro-Atlantic security

The chasm between Russia and the West appears to be wider now than at any point since the Cold War. But, despite stark differences, there are areas of existential common interest. As we did during the darkest days of the Cold War, Americans, Europeans, and Russians must work together to avoid catastrophe, including by preventing terrorist attacks and reducing the risks of a military -- or even nuclear -- conflict in Europe.Ever since the historic events of 1989-1991 changed Europe forever, each

Feb. 20, 2017

[Other View] Investigate Trump’s Russia ties

To recap a few anarchic days in Donald Trump’s Washington: At least six agencies are investigating Trump’s ties to Russia. The president is deriding the spies. The spies are keeping secrets from the president. The White House is mulling a purge. Everyone is leaking to the news media. And no one has any answers.If there’s one certainty in this increasingly troubling episode, it’s that Congress must get to the bottom of it. The question now is how to do so in a way that instills confidence in the

Feb. 20, 2017

[Cass R. Sunstein] What impeachment meant to the founders

In light of the recent White House controversies, it is inevitable that some people are starting to wonder whether, at any point, President Donald Trump might be impeachable. The best way to answer that question is to bracket controversies about any particular president and to ask: What, exactly, does the Constitution say about impeachment?As we shall see, Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, was altogether wrong to proclaim that the president cannot be impeached unless he has broken the law

Feb. 19, 2017

[David Ignatius] Flynn may be gone, but serious questions remain

President Trump confronts complicated problems as the investigation widens into Russia‘s attack on our political system. But his responsibilities are simple: A month ago, he swore an oath that he would “faithfully execute” his office and “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” That’s apparently easier said than done. In a rambling press conference Thursday and his blizzard of tweets, Trump has dismissed inquiries into his campaign‘s contacts with Russia and denounce

Feb. 19, 2017

[Bloomberg] The Fed Should Raise Rates Next Month

Inflation in the US rose in the year that ended in January by 2.5 percent -- faster than expected, and well above the Fed’s target of 2 percent. It was the latest sign that the economy needs a rise in interest rates when the Federal Reserve’s policy-making committee meets next month.Before the new inflation number, most analysts had thought the next rise would come later in the year. Afterward, it looked like a closer call, with trades in derivatives suggesting a probability of roughly 40 percen

Feb. 19, 2017

[Other View] Reagan’s Russian roadmap for Trump

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg have taken a tough line against Russia’s many recent provocations. Other than calling for all members of the alliance to pay their fair share of the military bill, however, they have offered no real plan of action.　Russia’s aggressions call for a stronger response. While Mattis is right to tweak the Europeans for slipping on defense spending, the metric that is repeatedly cited -- committing 2 percent of gross domes

Feb. 19, 2017

[Ramesh Ponnuru] Trump fails two tests of judgment and competence

Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser has rightly received more attention, but it wasn’t even the first personnel snafu in the administration that week. It wasn’t even the first national-security personnel snafu that week. A few days earlier, President Donald Trump had denied Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s request that Elliott Abrams be nominated to be his deputy.These two stories tell us a few things about how the Trump administration operates.Trump wants loyalists. Flynn

Feb. 17, 2017

[Other View] Maduro’s inability to admit failure fuels Venezuela’s continuing collapse

For the first time, Venezuelans are at the front of the line in the number of asylum seekers in the United States. Given the sorry state of their homeland, it’s not hard to believe. The numbers tell the story of their ailing country.　According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, 18,155 Venezuelans sought asylum in the nation last year.　That figure represents an increase of 150 percent from 2015, and six times more than in 2014, according to an Associated Press report.Today, it’s safe

Feb. 17, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] How to raise oil prices without really cutting

Oil producers appear to have pulled off quite the coup: the price of Brent crude has jumped more than 20 percent since late September while precious little has changed on the supply side.In November, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, notably Russia, agreed to the first production cuts in eight years. Nations have since complied with their commitments or even reduced output more than expected. Yet the changes are small in absolute terms, as January numbers rel

Feb. 16, 2017

Trump cabinet, inner circle, raise concerns; not confidence

It’s troubling enough that Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III was confirmed as attorney general, considering he was rejected for a federal judgeship in 1986 because of his comments on race. But Sessions joins a list of Trump administration appointees and nominees who have extreme views or lack experience to run the agencies they plan to oversee.Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a billionaire, showed an embarrassing lack of knowledge about public education during her confirmation hearing.Housing an

Feb. 16, 2017