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I don’t necessarily consider John Hume, the prominent Northern Ireland politician who was co-recipient (with "moderate" Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble) of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, a source of wisdom on ultimate principles. But he has experience with conflicts in his part of the world that might be useful in other parts of the … Continue reading “Long and Winding Road Toward Peace”

It’s like a very bad movie, a few cuts below grade-B. First Tom Brokaw and Tom Daschle – and now Senator Patrick Leahy is the latest recipient of an anthrax-laden missive. Does anyone see a pattern here? The idea that Osama bin Laden hates liberal Democrats in particular seems a little too arcane to be … Continue reading “A GRADE-B WAR MOVIE”

I love America. I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for – that individual liberty is held above the objectives of government; that, as Washington and Jefferson said, America imparts good will toward all and threatens no one; that this country is so big-hearted and prosperous it can welcome people from all over … Continue reading “I Love America. Do you?”

James Taranto’s usually quite boring “Best of the Web” column in the online Wall Street Journal gave me a chuckle the other day as I read his witless attack on Harry Browne, under the sophomoric subhead “Stupidity Watch”: “Another reason we’re not libertarian: Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party’s standard-bearer in 1996 and 2000, pens a … Continue reading “DEATH & THE WALL STREET JOURNAL“

The military campaign against the Taliban has fulfilled the expectations of Pakistan’s ruler, General Musharraf, who hoped it would be "short and sharp.” And so it was. All of a sudden, the scent of victory is in the air. Last week, according to our disgruntled hawks, the war was "stalled," and Senator John McCain and … Continue reading “LET’S DECLARE VICTORY”

It is time for President Bush to stop the cheer-leading and speak the truth. He said last Thursday, "This great nation will never be intimidated. . . . Life in America is going forward." Who is he trying to kid? Last Friday at Los Angeles airport I saw people trying to check their baggage – … Continue reading “Isn’t It Time for the Truth?”

An old anti-Semitic slur that has been making the rounds for many years characterizes the Jews as “cosmopolites,” a “fifth column” that knows no loyalty to their host country but owes allegiance only to itself. This, of course, is an ignorant smear, one that, furthermore, has such an ugly history that it no longer seems … Continue reading “‘ISLAMO-FASCISM’– THE NEW BOGEYMAN”

Imagine the following scenario: after ages of discrimination, the United States decides to compensate African-Americans generously and to solve their problems once and for all. All African-Americans are locked up in prison, and the prisons are declared to be an independent African-American state. Sound crazy? That is just what the US and Israel are now … Continue reading “Say No to a Palestinian ‘State’”

Two months into the war, and the Americans were hard-pressed to point to a single success, never mind the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The argument that the Afghan war is a quagmire waiting to swallow them seemed more credible than ever, and significant voices of dissent were beginning to be raised, … Continue reading “THE WAR IS A TRAP”

PEACE STUDIES AREN’T WHAT THEY USED TO BE Twenty years ago, someone might have opened up a journal of “peace studies” with some hope of finding useful analysis or information. At worst, he might confront some well-meaning Norwegian or Swede going on about imperialism, oppression, inequalities in the international state system, and the like. Even … Continue reading “Chimes of Wilson Flashing”