President Donald Trump’s politically incorrect behavior at the gathering of NATO leaders in Brussels on Thursday could, in its own circuitous way, spotlight an existential threat to the alliance. Yes, that threat is Russia, but not in the customary sense in which...
Our National Bird: The Medium Is the Message
In a culture like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational and practical fact, the medium is the message. This is merely to say that the personal and social...
Abolish Memorial Day
Author’s note: I had actually started to write a Memorial Day column when I looked up this piece from 2012, which says almost precisely what I intended to say. When you’ve been writing a column covering foreign affairs for over twenty years, as I have, repetition is...
Hostages Executed at Mosul Hospital; 176 Killed in Iraq
Are We Fighting Terrorism, Or Creating More Terrorism?
When we think about terrorism we most often think about the horrors of a Manchester-like attack, where a radicalized suicide bomber went into a concert hall and killed dozens of innocent civilians. It was an inexcusable act of savagery and it certainly did terrorize...
This Memorial Day, Remember the Victims of Democide
This weekend, Americans will seize the opportunity to sleep in an extra day, fire up the family grill, and maybe – probably not, but maybe – wheel out to a family cemetery, lay flowers on graves, and contemplate the memories of their beloved for a few...
Iraq Repatriates 1980s War Dead to Iran; 58 Killed in Iraq
Trump’s Mideast Mission Impossible
By now, comparing someone to the underwear gnomes of South Park fame is trite. Were it not for Donald Trump, I wouldn’t go near it. But I cannot resist because it’s a salient feature of his way of “thinking” – although posing would be the...
Corbyn and Kelly: Two Very Different Responses to Terrorism
While he was a guest on Fox News’ Fox and Friends, Department of Homeland Security Chief John Kelly described the current safety of US citizens: "if [you] knew what I knew about terrorism, [you’d] never leave the house in the morning." Anywhere, any time, a...


