Ivan Eland

Most people, when thinking of Memorial Day – if they don’t confuse it with Veterans Day – think of the start of the summer season or great sales at the stores and online. Yet the holiday is supposed to honor those who died in America’s wars. Even some of the limited remembrance on TV and … Continue reading “Real Patriotism on Memorial Day Means Losing Fewer Soldiers in Meaningless Wars”

The convincing victory of Emmanuel Macron in the recent French presidential election and his majority in France’s parliament (the National Assembly) gives another political neophyte vast power in an influential Western country. Although Macron started his own political party that defeated France’s traditional major parties – Republican on the right and Socialist on the left … Continue reading “Why Can’t Right-Wing Leaders Support Smaller Government?”

President Donald Trump has always had contradictions in his "tough guy" national security policy. For starters, he has proposed a nearly 10 percent increase in defense spending, but also claims that his demands for U.S. allies to spend more on defense are producing results. And during his campaign, he alluded to the need to stay … Continue reading “Potential Savings in the Defense Budget”

Well, OK, I guess the president learned his American history at Trump University. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, he recently seemingly confused Andrew Jackson’s behavior during the nullification crisis in 1832 with the Civil War, which didn’t occur until 16 years after Jackson died in 1861. The two events do have some similarity … Continue reading “An Answer to Trump: Could the Civil War Have Been Avoided?”

During his campaign, Donald J. Trump proposed to deal with the problem of North Korea by pressuring China to convince its ally to give up nuclear weapons and the missiles designed to carry them. Yet after North Korea’s recent test firing of several missiles, China proposed a solution to the problem, which the Trump administration … Continue reading “If Trump Wants China To Pressure North Korea, He Must Also Compromise”

The recent North Korean missile tests raise questions about contradictions in President Donald Trump’s national security policies. During his campaign Trump implied that the United States should fight fewer wars overseas and demanded that US dependents, Japan and South Korea, do more for their own defense, perhaps even getting nuclear weapons. Yet a recent article … Continue reading “Inconsistencies in Trump’s National Security Policies”

Although Donald Trump had good inclinations on some foreign policy issues during his campaign and transition period – for example, staying out of unneeded brushfire wars, reexamining U.S. alliances, and pushing wealthy allies to do more for their own security – his policy toward “radical Islamic terrorism” always needed some work. Now, having been president … Continue reading “Trump Needs To Rethink Terror Policies”

On President Trump’s first full day in office, he went to the CIA and promised to back the nation’s spy agencies, but his time would be better spent downsizing the sprawling intelligence community Ivan Eland Originating from the dispute over whether the Russians hacked the U.S. election and tried to influence it, rumblings came from … Continue reading “Need To Reorganize US Spy Agencies”

The world’s media is touting the “coming out” party for China’s lone aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The carrier and its’s entourage of escorting destroyers and frigates made a splash when they left the first island chain behind and sallied forth into the open Pacific Ocean past Taiwan and Okinawa. The ship and its battle group … Continue reading “The Threat From China’s Lone Aircraft Carrier Has Been Overstated”

The Obama administration has decided to stretch the 15-year-old congressional authorization for war against the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, or those harboring them, to include an illegal war against a group in Somalia – al-Shabab – that wasn’t even in existence at the time of the attacks in 2001. In fact, as with many … Continue reading “Presidential War Is Unconstitutional”