By THOMAS P.M. BARNETT, Scripps Howard News Service
America's discipline, globalization's survival
Understanding how America wages war in the age of globalization helps us understand why America fights. As historian Shelby Steele observes, it's important to recognize the difference between wars of survival, like World War II, and wars of discipline -- every war since.
The 51st state: a huge upside-down question mark
If America doesn't add a new star before I die, I'll be the first Barnett -- in a long line of Barnetts -- to be born and die under the same flag. That just ain't right.Travel back with me and track the growth of these United States across seven generations of my family:
The most important financial flow in the global economy
Two weeks ago, I attended an international conference on foreign investment in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region held at a Dead Sea resort in Jordan, and it was an eye-opener.
Realigning America's grand strategy to a world transforming
I'm writing a book right now that tackles the question, "What really constitutes grand strategy in the age of globalization?" By that I mean a vision of a desirable future world and your country's favorable position therein, plus a plan to get there that logically employs your nation's available resources.
Reasons to feel optimistic
Americans feel down right now. Unhappy with our current leaders, we've not yet fallen in love with any prospective presidential candidates. The world seems more challenging than ever, with plenty of scary news out of the Islamic world hitting us amidst record oil prices.
War extends frontier on man-machine interface
War, while horrifically cruel, does spur technological advances, and not just in killing people. Nowhere is that seen better than in medical care of the wounded, especially those who've suffered amputations. Recent breakthroughs suggest that scientists are on the verge of redefining the human-machine interface, with significant repercussions for an aging global population.
The future of oil? America's not in the driver's seat
With oil hovering at the $100-a-barrel mark, we're inundated by calls for a "Manhattan Project" on alternative energy, more regulation of major oil companies and an end to our milita
Resetting the clock on the Bush administration
The White House's recent policy reversals amount to a stunning repudiation of the first seven years of George W. Bush's presidency.
The white man's burden revisited
The current Vanity Fair presents a hypothetical map of the Middle East drawn by a quartet of experts.
The NIE tells us how to engage Iran
What the recent National Intelligence Estimate on Iran's nuclear ambitions truly indicates is that President Bush's loose talk about "World War III" is decidedly premature.
