A Third Lebanon War Could Be Much Worse than the Second
• Web Only
ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
• Web Only
A new report from the Anti-Defamation League makes virtually every critic of the Obama administration into a conspiracy-mongering threat to democracy -- a tactic that is itself very undemocratic.
Diversity: An Ideology
• Web Only
When the quest for "diversity" becomes an overarching concern in the U.S. military, the consequences can be deadly.
The Show Needn't Go On
• Web Only
This week the Israeli government announced it will resume negotiations with Syria without preconditions, and the Syrians responded in kind. Peace talks, if they ever actually start, aren't going anywhere, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows it. He's going through the motions so Western diplomats don't throw him and his country out in the cold. Syria's Bashar Assad knows it too. He's going through the motions so that he and his country can come in from the cold.
Time for Real Stimulus
• Web Only
John H. Makin proposes simple fiscal measures, centered on tax cuts, to stimulate the sluggish economy.
The Fall of One Wall
• Web Only
It is an anniversary that should rank among the greatest we recognize: the fall of the Berlin Wall and, with it, the end of Soviet Communism and a successful conclusion to the Cold War. And yet it passes with very little attention, as almost an afterthought. It is an astonishing oversight on our part.
Tragedy at Fort Hood
• Web Only
It wasn’t obvious from his demeanor in the press conference at Fort Hood last night, but November 5, 2009, was probably the worst day of Lieut. General Robert Cone’s life. A commander takes every death personally, but senseless deaths of this kind hit especially hard. Administrative duties are the way ahead on this tragedy: tend to the wounded and families, honor the dead, clean up, investigate, assess. Cone will be glad of such preoccupations in the days to come.
Some Thoughts on Barack Obama's Awful Evening
• Web Only
Don't Wait for Russia
• Web Only
Emanuele Ottolenghi weighs in on why stopping Iran's nuclear ambitions is not in Russia's interests.
A Prescription for Tragedy in Afghanistan
• Web Only
Obama's Enemies List
• Web Only
I have argued before that tone and manner in which one practices politics are undervalued commodities, especially at a presidential level. Among the things the public looks for in its leaders are those who are large-minded rather than petty and peevish, who engage in public arguments rather than in personal attacks, who want to solve problems rather than settle scores. Tone and approach are important not simply for the aesthetics of politics, but because of what they reveal about people's predisposition and attitude, their temperament and spirit.
Talking About Iran's Stockpile: Progress or Pointless?
• Web Only
Predictably, the Vienna talks on Iran's Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) stockpile have already stalled. Iran is using all the rules in the book and any trick on the margins to delay and gain more out of the talks. First, they dispatched a low-level delegation to the talks — something guaranteed to delay a decision even if a deal is struck in Vienna. Second, they torpedoed a critical element of the deal. According to what was supposedly agreed on already, the LEU would be enriched in Russia to higher levels (20 percent, well below weapons' grade) but further processed into fuel rods by France before it could be delivered to Iran for use in its Tehran Research Reactor. Now Iran is saying that France cannot be relied on and cannot be part of this deal. So the Iranians are threatening to go ahead and enrich on their own up to 20 percent if no deal is reached; they are also suggesting that they want a supply of fuel while they keep their stockpile.
Why Obama Is Wrong on Missile Defense
• Web Only
Hezbollah Isn't a Model for Afghanistan
• Web Only
How Politics Destroyed a Great TV Show
• October 2009
The cautionary tale of Battlestar Galactica.
