Matthew Yglesias

When America finally gives up on the Iraq adventure, I expect we’ll see something of a backlash. As Fouad Ajami, the right’s favorite Arab writer, put it, America tried to bring the Iraqi people The Foreigner’s Gift — the gift of freedom — and the Iraqis just screwed it up. There’s even, […]

I wrote last month about the I wrote last month about the somewhat odd rise of a new system for presidential nominations, where candidates no longer become famous by running successful campaigns but, rather, must already be famous in order to gain the level of attention necessary to succeed. I should have […]

I’m not sure what part of it is that Nancy disagreed with. She accused me of questioning her patriotism. I didn’t question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment. Al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That’s their fundamental underlying strategy. My statement was that if we […]

On Thursday, February 8, Bill Richardson delivered a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on “The New Realism and the Rebirth of American Leadership,” laying out the foreign policy vision that lies at the core of his presidential campaign. Since I wanted to write a column on Richardson, I thought I’d look […]

Tomorrow, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns is going to speak at the Brookings Institution on the subject of “Iran and U.S. National Security.” I’ll be there, and I’m hoping to get a chance to ask a question that’s been weighing on my mind for the past several weeks: […]

“There almost seems to be a conspiracy,” “There almost seems to be a conspiracy,” observes Jonathan Chait, “dedicated to convincing us that Hillary Clinton is the inevitable Democratic nominee for president.” Almost? It rather clearly seems to me that there is such a conspiracy, though “conspiracy” is perhaps an unduly inflammatory word. […]

“The time has come,” pronounced Barack Obama in a speech last week, “for universal health care in America.” Words to warm the heart of any liberal. True, as some observers complained, the speech was incredibly vague and wound up not even gesturing in the direction of an actual plan. But who could disagree with the […]

Retired General Wesley Clark is, like me, concerned that the Bush administration is going to launch a war with Iran. Arianna Huffington spoke to him in early January and asked Retired General Wesley Clark is, like me, concerned that the Bush administration is going to launch a war with Iran. Arianna Huffington […]

What did you do over your Christmas break? Me, I did nothing. But the government of Ethiopia, the only Christian regime in the Horn of Africa, did something a bit unusual — it conquered Somalia and began an occupation of the capital, Mogadishu. In this day and age, obviously, one doesn’t just […]

Americans are, fundamentally, optimistic people. Hence, every now and again we’re treated to some variant of the story about how America’s national security policy is going to be okay again, because George W. Bush is bringing some grownups onto the team. When considering this pattern, it’s perhaps worth recalling that in its […]