Patrick J. Buchanan

To manifest his opposition to President Donald Trump’s decision to pull all 2,000 U.S. troops out of Syria, and half of the 14,000 in Afghanistan, Gen. James Mattis went public and resigned as secretary of defense. Now Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, in public testimony to Congress, has contradicted Trump about the threats that … Continue reading “Trump vs. the Spy Chiefs: Who’s Right?”

"Pay the soldiers. The rest do not matter." This was the deathbed counsel given to his sons by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in A.D. 211. Nicolas Maduro must today appreciate the emperor’s insight. For the political survival of this former bus driver and union boss hangs now upon whether Venezuela’s armed forces choose to stand … Continue reading “If the Army Stands With Maduro, What Is Plan B?”

"Treaties are like roses and young girls. They last while they last." So said President Charles De Gaulle, who in 1966 ordered NATO to vacate its Paris headquarters and get out of France. NATO this year celebrates a major birthday. The young girl of 1966 is no longer young. The alliance is 70 years old. … Continue reading “At Age 70, Time To Rethink NATO”

"Stop the ENDLESS WARS!" implored President Donald Trump in a Sunday night tweet. Well, if he is serious, Trump had best keep an eye on his national security adviser, for a U.S. war on Iran would be a dream come true for John Bolton. Last September, when Shiite militants launched three mortar shells into the … Continue reading “Is Bolton Steering Trump Into War with Iran?”

"Assad must go, Obama says." So read the headline in The Washington Post, Aug. 18, 2011. The story quoted President Barack Obama directly: "The future of Syria must be determined by its people, but President Bashar al-Assad is standing in their way. … the time has come for President Assad to step aside." France’s Nicolas … Continue reading “How the War Party Lost the Middle East”

Will Trump Hold Firm on Syrian Pullout? "We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there," wrote President Donald Trump, as he ordered the withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Syria, stunning the U.S. foreign policy establishment. Trump overruled his secretaries of state and defense, and jolted this city and capitals across … Continue reading “Will Trump Hold Firm on Syrian Pullout?”

George H.W. Bush was America’s closer. Called in to pitch the final innings of the Cold War, Bush 41 presided masterfully over the fall of the Berlin Wall, the unification of Germany, the liberation of 100 million Eastern Europeans and the dissolution of the Soviet Union into 15 independent nations. History’s assignment complete, Bush 41 … Continue reading “Who Lost the World Bush 41 Left Behind?”

On departure for the G-20 gathering in Buenos Aires, President Donald Trump canceled his planned weekend meeting with Vladimir Putin, citing as his reason the Russian military’s seizure and holding of three Ukrainian ships and 24 sailors. But was Putin really the provocateur in Sunday’s naval clash outside Kerch Strait, the Black Sea gateway to … Continue reading “Is Putin the Provocateur in the Kerch Crisis?”

The 633-word statement of President Donald Trump on the Saudi royals’ role in the grisly murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi is a remarkable document, not only for its ice-cold candor. The president re-raises a question that has roiled the nation since Jimmy Carter: To what degree should we allow idealistic values trump vital … Continue reading “Are the Saudi Princes True Friends?”

Was the assassination of JFK by Lee Harvey Oswald still getting as much media coverage three weeks after his death as it did that first week after Nov. 22, 1963? Not as I recall. Yet, three weeks after his murder, Jamal Khashoggi, who was not a U.S. citizen, was not killed by an American, and … Continue reading “Time for Trump To Cut the Prince Loose?”