Patrick J. Buchanan

Two hundred thirty years have elapsed since Jefferson’s document was signed in Philadelphia, declaring the 13 colonies to be independent forever of the England of George III. In his Farewell Address, Washington defined independence in a single sentence: “It is our true policy to steer clear of any permanent alliances with any portion of the … Continue reading “An Independent Republic Still?”

In 1938, the year of Anschluss and Munich, a perceptive British Catholic looked beyond the continent over which war clouds hung and saw another cloud forming. “It has always seemed to me … probable,” wrote Hilaire Belloc, “that there would be a resurrection of Islam and that our sons or our grandsons would see the … Continue reading “An Idea Whose Time Has Come?”

To buttress crumbling support for his interventionist policy, President Bush played his ace of trumps, sending his most popular champion, Condi Rice, to the Southern Baptist Convention. If seven standing ovations and 20,000 Christians bursting forth into a spontaneous signing of “God Bless America” at the close is any measure, the secretary succeeded splendidly in … Continue reading “Condi and the Isolationists”

When there is no solution, there is no problem, observed James Burnham, the former Trotskyite turned Cold War geostrategist. Burnham’s insight came again to mind as President Bush ended his meeting with Ehud Olmert by announcing that the Israeli prime minister had brought with him some “bold ideas” for peace. And what bold ideas might … Continue reading “Steering Into a Third Intifada”

In the 27 years since the Iranian Revolution, the United States has launched air strikes on Libya, invaded Grenada, put Marines in Lebanon, and run air strikes in the Bekaa Valley and Chouf Mountains in retaliation for the Beirut bombing. We invaded Panama, launched Desert Storm to liberate Kuwait, and put troops into Somalia. Under … Continue reading “‘Comrade Wolf’ and the Mullahs”

“[N]o legitimate interest is served when oil and gas become tools of intimidation or blackmail, either by supply management or attempt to monopolize transportation,” thundered Vice President Cheney to the international pro-democracy conference in Vilnius, Lithuania. “[N]o one can justify actions that undermine the territorial integrity of a neighbor, or interfere with democratic movements.” Cheney’s … Continue reading “Why Are We Baiting Putin?”

Now that Congress is back from spring break and looking ahead to Memorial Day, July 4, the August recess and adjournment early in October for elections, perhaps it can take up this question. Does President Bush have, or not have, the authority to take us to war with Iran? Because Bush and the War Party … Continue reading “Of Imperial Presidents and Congressional Cowards”

In just two weeks, six retired U.S. Marine and Army generals have denounced the Pentagon planning for the war in Iraq and called for the resignation or firing of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, who travels often to Iraq and supports the war, says that the generals mirror the views … Continue reading “The Generals’ Revolt”

With the Gallup Poll showing 51 percent of Americans want all U.S. troops out of Iraq by year’s end, John Kerry has made his move. The 2004 Democratic nominee is calling for complete withdrawal of U.S. forces, if Iraqis do not agree on a unity government by May 15. Even if the Iraqis pull a … Continue reading “Kerry, the Antiwar Candidate?”

“If I must die, I will die,” Abdul Rahman told a human rights worker. Facing execution for converting to Christianity, Rahman had just been moved from a jail in Kabul, where his life was in imminent peril, to the notorious Policharki prison outside Kabul, where 2,000 are incarcerated, including 350 Taliban. Rahman is a man … Continue reading “What Is ‘Democracy’?”