Ivan Eland

A United Nations panel recently spent a year and lots of money from contributing nations, including the United States, to arrive at an obvious conclusion already known to the world: North Korea severely abuses human rights. The question remains, "What can be done about it?" The answer remains, "Not much." Yet public criticism of its … Continue reading “North Korea Abuses Human Rights – Tell Us Something We Don’t Already Know”

In a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Obama declared that promoting freedom of religious faith around the world was a central goal of U.S. foreign policy, because "freedom of religion matters to our national security." Hardly. Obama’s remarks hearkened back to memories of Al Gore saying that climate change was a national security … Continue reading “Religious Freedom – Lead by Example”

Lieutenant General James R. Clapper, Jr., the Director of National Intelligence, recently gave testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on his annual assessment of the threats facing the United States. What little attention was paid by the media – always seeking drama and conflict to get more viewers and readers in order to increase advertising … Continue reading “Intelligence Chief’s Histrionics Obscure Downgrade of Terrorist Threat”

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president, has refused to sign a security deal with the United States that could keep about 8,000 to 12,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan after "combat operations" end at the end of 2014. These forces would train still-pathetic Afghan security forces in the field (after 13 years of US training), conduct counterterrorism raids, … Continue reading “A War Is Not Over Till It’s Over”

President Obama cares more about the feelings of foreign leaders than he does about the constitutional rights of Americans. In his attempt to stanch the political bleeding from Edward’s Snowden’s revelations on National Security Agency (NSA) spying, Obama made a definite pledge to cease the spy agency’s surveillance of leaders of "close friends and allies" … Continue reading “When Foreign Leaders Feelings Matter More than Constitutional Rights”

All the hoopla in the media over Bob Gates’ scathing criticism of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in his new memoir, Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, has missed the mark. Obama can be criticized legitimately for his deplorable policy of piling up even more bodies of U.S. soldiers in an … Continue reading “Gates’ Memoir Illustrates How Militaristic US Society Has Become”

As their massive sacrifices in the future of Iraq go up in flames (more than 4,000 American lives lost and greater than $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars wasted) Americans watch pundits on TV argue that their government did too little and abandoned Iraq too soon. For example, John McCain and his ubiquitous sidekick Lindsay Graham, … Continue reading “Obama Should Be Careful of the Slippery Slope Back Into Iraq”

After 9/11, the U.S. Army, taking the lead among the military services in fighting counterinsurgency conflicts against guerrillas in Iraq and Afghanistan, did well in the inter-service wars in the Pentagon over budgets. As in the post-Vietnam era, as the Obama administration has withdrawn from these counterinsurgencies without winning them, the White House and the … Continue reading “Stop Allowing the Army To Copy the Marines’ Missions”

One of the most influential Saudi Arabian princes, Turki al-Faisal – the former Saudi intelligence chief who clearly reflects the Saudi royal government’s view – recently criticized President Barack Obama for weakness in the Middle East. Although not friendly with Saudi Arabia, the Israeli government is similarly disenchanted with Obama’s regional performance. Prince Turki’s comments … Continue reading “Ignore Saudi and Israel Goading for Mideast Warmongering”

The American media usually profit handsomely from "hyper-partisan" fighting – finding, and sometimes creating, politically conflict-laden stories that get more viewers, listeners, readers, and thus higher advertising revenues. After abetting this discordant political environment, the media then tell us any bi-partisan agreement to lessen such conflict is good, apparently no matter what’s in it. That’s … Continue reading “Bipartisan Budget Agreement Doesn’t Make Partisan Bickering Look So Bad”