SEATTLE, OCT. 22 — “The most potent campaign rumor of the year is the web-induced claim that if re-elected Bush President will reinstitute the draft,” says Bruce Chapman, president of the Discovery Institute and a pioneer in the 1960s movement to institute an all-volunteer military. “It’s potent, but it is also false.” “Whether the Kerry camp originated the story or simply Read More ›
Israelis understand terrorism well. Long before 9/11 and Beslan, Israelis experienced unrelenting terrorist attacks for decades, including hijackings, suicide bombings and attacks on children. Nothing that we experience today is new to them. They live in a world of guards outside every restaurant, market and bus stop, guards who check bags for explosives. During my trip to Israel to attend Read More ›
Discovery Institute president Bruce Chapman will participate in a panel discussion on a special program to air on NorthWest Cable News several times this weekend. “Beyond Baghdad” airs on NWCN (Comcast channel 8) at 8 p.m. Friday the 4th, noon and 8 p.m. Saturday the 5th, and noon and 8 p.m. Sunday the 6th. For listings outside Seattle, click here. Read More ›
Critics of George Bush’s Iraq policy have bemused themselves with anti-war demonstrations and public opinion overseas, plus the pronouncements of France, Germany and Russia. They conclude that America has suffered diplomatic rejection by “the whole world.” The war is about to recruit new waves of terrorists, they say, and at last precipitate the downfall of the American “empire.” But while Read More ›
Last Friday morning, Dr. George Weigel, a Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, gave a lecture entitled “Morality, Just War Doctrine, and Iraq” before the Discovery Institute, here in Seattle. The presentation was as fascinating as it was timely. Weigel began by quickly dispensing with the idea that moral and theological ideas should not receive consideration in Read More ›
On Sept. 10, 2001, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was the man the MICE — the Military-Industrial-Congressional Empire — loved to hate. Today, after nine months as everybody’s favorite “secretary of war,” the MICE are chewing on him again. The reason, then and now: “transformation,” or Rumsfeld’s attempt to drag America’s defense establishment, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century. The Read More ›
The Afghan war drags on. Nobody knows where the next war or terrorist strike will come, or how soon, or how bad it will be. Nobody knows where the defense budget is going, except up, up and away. America remains steadfast. But increasingly, America wants explanations and answers. Enter Against All Terrors: This People’s Next Defense. This is one of Read More ›
This war is full of surprises. And among the strangest so far has been the reaction to President Bush’s decision to establish military tribunals to try certain terrorist suspects. To our knowledge, none have so far been held. Procedures are still being worked out by a Defense Department that regards the assignment with considerably less than total enthusiasm. Only suspects Read More ›