Joe Klein

Joe Klein is TIME's political columnist and author of six books, most recently Politics Lost. His weekly TIME column, "In the Arena," covers national and international affairs. In 2004 he won the National Headliner Award for best magazine column.

Articles from Contributor

In the Arena In the Arena

Since you asked

A left-wing extremist exhibits many, but not necessarily all, of the following attributes:

–believes the United States is a fundamentally negative force in the world.

–believes that American imperialism is the primary cause of Islamic radicalism.

–believes that the decision to go to war in Iraq was not an individual case of …

In the Arena In the Arena

Self-Referential Feedback Loop–Relooped

Ezra’s response to my response to his response to Justin Fox here.
Actually, one of the things I like most about blogging is the ability to acknowledge mistakes immediately, link to others, including readers, who make good arguments, and to publish additional thoughts…These “updates,” including this one, are not signs of being …

In the Arena In the Arena

Self-Referential Feedback Loop

Let me respond to Ezra Klein’s response to Justin Fox’s delightful bit about us mainstream sorts trying to be bloggers.
Now, I like Ezra. He’s a smart guy. We have the same last name and all…But he’s wrong about this:

But in this new medium — which their editors and marketing folks keep telling them they need to compete in — they’ve

In the Arena In the Arena

Mid-Certainty

This story has everything–aluminum tubes, flawed intel assessments, John Bolton…but, best of all, it introduces a term that will, no doubt, be associated with the Bush Administration in perpetuity, a terrific title for some future history of the Bush years: Mid-certainty. In this case, mid-certainty means that there are differing …

In the Arena In the Arena

Where Are the Allies?

Given the arrogance and distemper of the Bush Administration, it’s kind of tough for even our best friends, like the Brits, to remain solid U.S. allies these days…but I’ve got to say that Max Boot raises an important point in his column today.

Our NATO allies simply aren’t pulling their weight in Afghanistan. This is a “good war” …

In the Arena In the Arena

Don’t Iran to Conclusions

OK, OK. Lots of chatter among readers about an imminent attack by U.S. or Israel against Iran. Some of it is being generated by this piece by Sy Hersh. A few days ago, David Kurtz at Talking Points Memo posted a Ha’aretz report about Israel asking for overflight clearance from neighboring countries for an airstrike against Iran.

This is …

In the Arena In the Arena

Joe and Henry on Iraq

At the very top of its list of recommended articles this morning, Real Clear Politics features pieces about Iraq by Joe Lieberman and Henry Kissinger–and they are very instructive.

Look at the emphasis in the two columns: Lieberman’s is all about the military; Kissinger’s, diplomacy. Kissinger says that a military solution “is not …

In the Arena In the Arena

Life in Baghdad

A mostly positive report about the effects of the new security strategy in Baghdad from Mohammed at Iraq the Model.

It’s always good to be reminded that there are actual non-aligned, normal Iraqis who welcome the increased police presence provided by the new U.S. tactics. Mohammed is an unusually judicious and clear-eyed observer, and …

In the Arena In the Arena

Iraq Rape Update

Now the Kurdish President and Sunni Vice President say it should be investigated.
Several readers have asked why this case is so important. Two reasons:

–it’s a measure of how serious Nuri al-Maliki is about being a Prime Minister who creates a multi-party state. So far, in this case, he has gratuitously inflamed tensions between Sunni …

In the Arena In the Arena

Cutting Off Nose, Spiting Face

Josh Marshall picks up a telling bit from Ha’aretz about the U.S. efforts to block a Syrian-Israeli peace deal.

When I interviewed Bashar Assad a few years ago, he told me that his father and Yitzak Rabin had gotten “98.5% of the way” toward a peace agreement. “The only outstanding issues were water rights and Sha’aba farms,” he said, …

In the Arena In the Arena

Complete and Total Embarrassment

This from j. goodrich at Tapped regarding the remarkable Glenn Beck. Why Time Warner, the owners of Time Magazine and this blog, would sully its credibility by employing this toxic dufus is beyond me.

The notion that it’s the personal morality of individual Americans–not the unwarranted invasion of Iraq, not Abu Ghraib, not the …

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