Will NATO Membership Draw the U.S. Into the Syrian Conflict?

Military tensions between Syria and Turkey have risen dramatically in the last two days. After shooting down a Turkish fighter jet in June, Syrian government forces reportedly fired into Turkish territory and killed five civilians yesterday. Turkey has responded by shelling targets in Syria.

Though presently limited, the attacks are of keen interest to the United States. Turkey and the United States are both members of NATO and thus parties to the North Atlantic Treaty. Article 5 of that treaty establishes collective self-defense obligations by providing that in the event of an armed attack against any NATO member, every other member “will assist the [attacked member] by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain security of the North Atlantic area.” Thus, the Syrian attacks on Turkey might conceivably require the United States to come to Turkey’s defense.

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R.I.P. Eugene D. Genovese

The death of distinguished historian Eugene D. Genovese on September 26 led me to reflect on both his scholarly accomplishments and his intellectual and political thought.  No book inspired me more as a graduate student than Genovese’s Roll, Jordan, Roll (1975), but Genovese’s sharp turn to the right in his later years was troubling indeed.

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Feingold Calls for More Cooperation, Less Big Money in Politics

Voters should do more to demand that their elected representatives, regardless of which party they are in, demonstrate that they are willing to work with people on the other side of the political aisle to solve problems, former US Senator Russ Feingold told an audience at Eckstein Hall on Wednesday.

In an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session, Feingold certainly aired his own political views – he is co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign in Wisconsin. But he also called for new efforts to stem the impact of big donations on the political process and for a return at all political levels to times when officials cooperated more with people of differing views.

“It’s up to the people to change the dynamic,” Feingold said, responding to a question from an audience member about the highly partisan climate.. Right now, he said, many elected officials are “listening to anger” more than voices seeking cooperation. He suggested voters tell elected officials that if they cannot provide examples of how they worked with people of differing views at the end of a term, the voters won’t support them again.

Feingold said Republican leaders in Washington never gave Obama a chance as president to work across the aisle. He said key Republicans had dinner together on the day of Obama’s inauguration in 2009 and agreed, “We’re not going to let his guy get anything.” He said, “To me, this was off the charts. . . . It’s not a very good thing to do to the United States of America.”

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