In the field of foreign policy one hears a lot about "realists" vs. "idealists," Marxists, and so on. In such discussions the term "realist" does not necessarily mean hard-headed, feet-on-the-ground, practical, pragmatic, worldly, ready...
As I have listened to the discussions about Saddam Hussein and Iraq, some disturbing questions have arisen. As an ordinary citizen with no special expertise in foreign policy, I am unable to get to the bottom of them. As a skeptic, however, who remembers how the Gulf...
I, along with many other columnists and reporters, have had a good time poking fun at Jiang and his New Theory in the past few months. Jiang’s own bluster plus the solemn, blatant propaganda churned out by the Chinese media has kept us all laughing. A few have...
When the process of creating a Department of Homeland Security commenced, Congress was led to believe that the legislation would be a simple reorganization aimed at increasing efficiency, not an attempt to expand federal power. Fiscally conservative members of...
During the cold war, foreign policy issues rarely cut across Right-Left lines: the Left was anti-interventionist, the Right was for "rolling back" the Soviets and the matter was pretty clear-cut. Oh, there were a few libertarians (such as Murray N. Rothbard)...
Elections in the Middle East do not usually attract too much attention in the international media. Who remembers the recent elections in Iraq or in Syria? And who cares? Exceptions to this rule are Turkey and Israel: both countries are considered democracies, even...
Last Friday [November 8], Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said in an interview with Le Figaro that he thought Osama bin Laden is not only alive, but also plotting new terrorist attacks: "Something worrying is going on," he said. What's worrying is...
Conservative scribblers across the English speaking world looking for a tired witticism never wait long before moaning about defence – 'why can't we be honest, why can't we call it "Attack"? Why can't we bring back good old-fashioned names for army...
When it comes to foolish actions by nation-states and nascent empires, I'm probably more fatalistic than average. The prudent, cautious rule in such matters is to expect maximum foolishness so you can be modestly grateful on those few occasions when the appalling...
The absolute evil of what passes for today's conservative movement may not shock my more liberal readers, but those of us on the Right who were brought up in a more salubrious time remember when things were quite different. Believe it or not, conservatives didn't...
