Month: February 2013

Is America Ensnared in an Endless War?

“When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” So said Richard Nixon in his interviews with David Frost. Nixon was talking about wiretaps and surreptitious entries to protect lives and safeguard national security in a violent and anarchic war decade. The Nixon haters pronounced themselves morally sickened. Fast forward to our … Continue reading “Is America Ensnared in an Endless War?”

Rand Paul’s War Against “Radical Islam”

Sen. Rand Paul wants to be taken seriously – as a presidential candidate, as heir to the energetic youth-oriented movement founded by his father, and as a foreign policy Deep Thinker. This last goal was supposed to have been approached, if not reached, by his much-anticipated foreign policy speech delivered at the Heritage Foundation the … Continue reading “Rand Paul’s War Against “Radical Islam””

Locking Down the Borders

In the always-good-news category, a Monday front-page New York Times piece by David Sanger and Thom Shanker, filled with obvious administration leaks, lays out another step in the White House’s march out of American legality. As it has codified its drone assassination strikes, so it has been codifying and “legalizing” another new right of the Executive Branch — the right to launch … Continue reading “Locking Down the Borders”

The Jihad That Wasn’t

WASHINGTON – A funny thing happened on the way to the jihadi takeover of America. It got lost. Same goes for Islamist radical attacks on American interests overseas – it’s just not happening to the degree that our favorite jihad hunters here in the U.S have been ranting about for the last 12 years. Turns … Continue reading “The Jihad That Wasn’t”

Obama Gives Himself Permission To Kill

After stonewalling for more than a year federal judges and ordinary citizens who sought the revelation of its secret legal research justifying the presidential use of drones to kill persons overseas – even Americans – claiming the research was so sensitive and so secret that it could not be revealed without serious consequences, the government … Continue reading “Obama Gives Himself Permission To Kill”

The Talented Mr. Takeyh

If there’s one thing mainstream "Iran experts" hate, it’s well-credentialed, experienced analysts who dare challenge Beltway orthodoxies, buck conventional wisdom and demythologize the banal, bromidic and Manichean foreign policy narrative of the United States government and its obedient media. Such perspectives are shunned by "serious" scholars who play by the rules they and their former … Continue reading “The Talented Mr. Takeyh”

Iraq Violence Leaves Seven Killed

There were several reports of violence today, but none of them left significant numbers of casualties. Overall, at least seven Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded. In Mosul a contractor was shot dead. Gunmen killed two policemen and wounded another. An I.E.D. killed a soldier and wounded another. Gunmen attacked a checkpoint in … Continue reading “Iraq Violence Leaves Seven Killed”

Ron Paul’s Statement on Sniper’s Death Not ‘Appalling’

Former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul is being roundly criticized for his Twitter comment on the killing of celebrated former sniper Chris Kyle. The sniper was gunned down by former Marine Eddie Routh at a Texas shooting range while Kyle was attempting to help Routh overcome his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from service in … Continue reading “Ron Paul’s Statement on Sniper’s Death Not ‘Appalling’”

The American Lockdown State

Consider Inauguration Day, more than two weeks gone and already part of our distant past.  In its wake, President Obama was hailed (or reviled) for his “liberal” second inaugural address.  On that day everything from his invocation of women’s rights (“Seneca Falls”), the civil rights movement (“Selma”), and the gay rights movement (“Stonewall”) to his wife’s new bangs and Beyoncé’s lip-syncing was fodder … Continue reading “The American Lockdown State”