Doug Bandow

Iraq was about many things, supporters of the war intone. The fact that no WMD were discovered is irrelevant. President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, and a host of Republican (and many Democratic) legislators solemnly proclaim that knowing what they know now they would go to war all over again. Why? It was … Continue reading “The Painful Death of Humanitarian Intervention”

State of Denial: Bush at War, Part III Bob Woodward Simon & Schuster, 2006 558 pp. “On some of these issues I don’t trust anybody that’s that sure,” Secretary of State Condi Rice allegedly said of the “extremists” on the Iraq war. One wonders why she continues to work for President George W. Bush. This … Continue reading “Readings in the Age of Empire”

PRIZREN, Kosovo – Life in a monastery is normally a challenge. But life in the Monastery of the Holy Archangels is a particular challenge. The original building was destroyed in the 16th century by the invading Turks. The Orthodox Church eventually built a small church, residence, and workshop amid the ancient ruins. In 2004, a … Continue reading “Nation-Destroying
in the Balkans”

George W. Bush has been vilified by the Left, but his harshest critics should be on the Right. One of the most momentous consequences of the Bush presidency is the destruction of the philosophical core of modern conservatism. Like most political movements, American conservatism incorporated various strains of thought, some at odds with one another. … Continue reading “Bush Versus Principled Conservatism”

Ethical Realism: A Vision for America’s Role in the World Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman Pantheon, 2006 199 pp. George W. Bush still has more than two years to serve as president, but it isn’t too early to proclaim his foreign policy to be a failure. America no longer is seen as unbeatable; its moral … Continue reading “Readings in the Age of Empire”

Shinzo Abe has become the youngest postwar prime minister of Japan. He is seen as a reformer, following the lead of his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Of greater significance to the U.S. and the rest of world, Abe also is a nationalist dedicated increasing his country’s global role. By encouraging Japan to become a normal nation … Continue reading “Normalizing Relations
With Japan”

Rare is it to find a president whose foreign policy has imploded as dramatically and catastrophically as has that of George W. Bush. Little more than a year after taking office, the candidate who espoused humility turned into the chief executive who embraced empire. Four years later, the administration’s drive for global primacy irrespective of … Continue reading “A Foreign Policy of Failure”

Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton Alfred A. Knopf, 2006 370 pp. By every measure, Sept. 11 was a disaster. The most obvious victims were the nearly 3,000 people who died in the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., along with their … Continue reading “Readings in the Age of Empire”

You have to wonder what America has done to deserve to be stuck in Korea. What curse are we suffering under? On the one side are the South Koreans, whom we have defended for five decades. Large numbers think more highly of China and North Korea than of America; many view the U.S. as the … Continue reading “The Korean Imbroglio: Disengage and Ignore”

President George W. Bush has faced surprisingly little serious opposition while taking the U.S. down an international primrose path. The Left was divided on his mad adventure in Iraq, with most leading Democrats, including 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry and potential 2008 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton backing the administration. Many of those who opposed Bush … Continue reading “The Faux Liberal Foreign Policy Debate”