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Michael Steinberger

Michael Steinberger is a senior editor at Foreign Policy magazine.

Recent Articles

Misoverestimated

Michael SteinbergerOct 25, 2005

In July 2003, President George W. Bush made a five-nation tour of Africa. The purpose of the visit was to cast American foreign policy in a gentler light after the diplomatic donnybrook over Iraq -- by, among other things, showcasing the Bush administration's seriousness about combating Africa's AIDS pandemic.

Hocking a Lugar

Michael SteinbergerMay 12, 2005

So the White House got its man through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: John Bolton was approved for a floor vote for confirmation as UN ambassador, albeit without a committee recommendation. Even before today's vote, it was clear who was the biggest loser in this sorry episode: committee chairman Richard Lugar. Throughout the Bolton debacle, Lugar has been portrayed as the hapless straight arrow forced to act against his better judgment by a ruthless administration hell-bent on getting its way. Nonsense. There was nothing preventing Lugar from derailing the Bolton nomination. And, in failing to do so, he has not only sacrificed his carefully nurtured reputation for probity and responsibility; he has allowed serious harm to be done to the Senate.

Neo-Economics

Michael SteinbergerFeb 21, 2005

In late January, after weeks of waiting for a sign that the Bush administration would lead a coordinated effort to try to prevent the dollar's recent slide from turning into a full-fledged crash, the world finally seemed to get the message. “There's nobody home on economic policy in America right now,” a frustrated Morgan Stanley chief global economist Stephen Roach told an audience at the annual Davos, Switzerland, schmoozefest, where the fast-sinking dollar dominated the discussion. On any number of critical global economic issues, from Argentina's financial meltdown to deadlocked world-trade talks to the staggering dollar, George W. Bush has effectively hung a “gone fishing” sign on the White House door.

Annan and On

Michael SteinbergerJan 28, 2005

The call for Kofi Annan's resignation has gotten louder and louder as the conservative media flogs the overblown oil-for-food scandal. But should liberals be calling for Annan to go -- on wholly different grounds? Prospect senior correspondent Michael Steinberger argues the case against Annan, while Ian Williams, UN correspondent for The Nation and author of The UN for Beginners, takes the defense.

This is the last of three parts. The first round can be read here, the second here.

Michael Steinberger

Annan and On

Michael SteinbergerJan 26, 2005

The call for Kofi Annan's resignation has gotten louder and louder as the conservative media flogs the overblown oil-for-food scandal. But should liberals be calling for Annan to go -- on wholly different grounds? Prospect senior correspondent Michael Steinberger argues the case against Annan, while Nation UN correspondent Ian Williams, author of The UN for Beginners, takes the defense.

This is the second of three parts. The first round can be read here; the third round will appear on Wednesday.

Michael Steinberger

I'm not sure even Kofi Annan would go the lengths you go to exculpate him.

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