Behind the Benghazi Cover-Up

On Sept. 11, scores of men with automatic weapons and RPGs launched a night assault on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, and set the building ablaze. Using mortars, they launched a collateral attack on a safe house, killing two more Americans, as other U.S. agents fled to the airport. On Sept. … Continue reading “Behind the Benghazi Cover-Up”

Stay out of the Syrian Maelstrom

“In Syria, I will work … to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad’s tanks, helicopters and fighter jets.” This commitment by Mitt Romney in his VMI address has thrilled the neocons as much as it has unsettled the … Continue reading “Stay out of the Syrian Maelstrom”

Is a Nuclear Deal With Iran Possible?

In diplomacy, always leave your adversary an honorable avenue of retreat. Fifty years ago this October, to resolve a Cuban missile crisis that had brought us to the brink of nuclear war, JFK did that. He conveyed to Nikita Khrushchev, secretly, that if the Soviet Union pulled its nuclear missiles out of Cuba, the United … Continue reading “Is a Nuclear Deal With Iran Possible?”

The Unraveling of Obama’s Foreign Policy

Three days after Ambassador Chris Stevens was assassinated, Jay Carney told the White House press corps it had been the work of a flash mob inflamed by an insulting video about the Prophet Muhammad. As the killers had arrived with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, this story seemed noncredible on its face. Yet two days … Continue reading “The Unraveling of Obama’s Foreign Policy”

The Clinton-Rice Credibility Gap

Two weeks after Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were murdered in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration has conceded it was an act of terrorism. The attack on the U.S. Consulate, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton now admits, was part of a broader effort by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, working “with other violent … Continue reading “The Clinton-Rice Credibility Gap”

America’s Last Crusade

For Americans of the Greatest Generation that fought World War II and of the Silent Generation that came of age in the 1950s, the great moral and ideological cause was the Cold War. It gave purpose and clarity to our politics and foreign policy, and our lives. From the fall of Berlin in 1945 to … Continue reading “America’s Last Crusade”

Is It Time to Come Home?

Is it not long past time to do a cost-benefit analysis of our involvement in the Middle and Near East? In this brief century alone, we have fought the two longest wars in our history there, put our full moral authority behind an “Arab Spring” that brought down allies in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen, and … Continue reading “Is It Time to Come Home?”

Has Obama Called Bibi’s Bluff?

What is Bibi Netanyahu up to? With all his warnings of Iran’s “nuclear capability,” of red lines being crossed, of “breakout,” of the international community failing in its duty, of an “existential threat” to Israel, what is the prime minister’s game? The answer is apparent. Bibi wants Iran’s nuclear program shut down, all enrichment ended, … Continue reading “Has Obama Called Bibi’s Bluff?”

The New World Disorder

After his great victory in Desert Storm, George H.W. Bush went before the United Nations to declare the coming of a New World Order. The Cold War was yesterday. Communism was in its death throes. The Soviet Empire had crumbled. The Soviet Union was disintegrating. Francis Fukuyama was writing of “The End of History.” Savants … Continue reading “The New World Disorder”