Foreign Policy

Obama in the Coils of Foreign Opinion

Pew Research has come out with its latest sampling of international public opinion, espousing the prevailing establishment view: that people in foreign countries like Obama and as a result like the United States — although perhaps not as much as a year ago — and that such opinion benefits us, especially in comparison with the era of George W. Bush. Read More ›

New Gaza Flotilla Crisis Begins for Israel

The world is not yet paying much attention, but ships apparently departed Khorramshahr, Iran on June 12, bound for Gaza. Iran is threatening to retaliate if Americans, or, presumably, Israelis, attempt to stop them on international waters. That is likely to spark a new crisis at sea. Lebanese ships, possibly linked to the Iran-sponsored terrorists, Hezbollah, also appear to be headed to Gaza. Israel Read More ›

Cuba 1962 and Iran 2010

In the euphoria the Obama administration feels upon attaining final agreement with Russia on the New START Treaty, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke of how American and Russian strategic arms reductions have set an example for others to follow. Yet shortly after that announcement, Iran aired one of its own: The regime plans to build additional nuclear plants. Our Read More ›

State Dept. Thanks Discovery Institute

This article, published by the State Department, thanks Discovery Institute: I want to thank the Discovery Institute and the American University in Moscow, and Ed Lozansky in particular, for the opportunity to reflect on U.S.-Russian relations with you today. The rest of the article can be found here.

President Obama’s Nuclear Gamble

What has President Obama accomplished with his twin nuclear thunderbolts regarding the April 6th Nuclear Posture Review [NPR] & the April 8th New START Treaty? Put simply, President Obama has “done in” strategic nuclear policy — what in business is called “betting the company.” If he gets a bad result from any of a half-dozen nuclear gambles, he is likely Read More ›

Survival First, Lawfare Second

Our Constitution and laws did nothing to protect us on September 11, 2001. International law did nothing either. Rather, intelligence, behavioral profiling at airport security, locked cockpit doors, F-16s on patrol overhead, could have protected us. Excessive legal constraints have already cost us dearly: In late 2001 a Predator drone had Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Omar in its gun-sights. But by Read More ›

Richard Reid and the Christmas Bomber

President Obama’s supporters are making much of how the Bush administration treated 2001 shoe-bomber Richard Reid the same way that the Flight 253 Christmas bomber has been treated: arrest, indictment, and trial in civilian criminal court. In doing so they in fact continue to perpetuate a deep division that dates back to the first days after September 11, 2001, between Read More ›

The Wrong War

President Obama has finally made up his mind on Afghanistan — sort of. The clear decision and explanation that would either give meaning and rationale to our troops’ efforts or lay the foundation for a reasoned withdrawal has been put off, yet again. It is almost heresy in conservative circles to say that changing circumstances — and not just President Read More ›