Ivan Eland

Ivan Eland is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute and author of Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty.

Should the Law Governing the War on Terror Be Changed?

A move is afoot in Congress to change the 2001 law that kicked off what became the “war on terror” (although the Obama administration has dropped the now politically incorrect term). The administration, however, opposes changing the statute, because, as one Pentagon official said, “As of right now, it suits us well.” Naturally the administration … Continue reading “Should the Law Governing the War on Terror Be Changed?”

Benghazi: Who Cares?

Now that Republicans have legitimate and troubling scandals on which to criticize the Obama administration—the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups and the Justice Department’s broad seizure of the Associated Press’s phone records—hopefully they will forget their inane focus on the “cover up” involving the attack on the Benghazi diplomatic compound in Libya. But … Continue reading “Benghazi: Who Cares?”

Political Decentralization Might Help in Conflict-Ridden Countries

What do Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan have in common? Although it’s true that the United States has conducted recent military interventions in all of them, the more fundamental answer is that they are all artificial countries. That is, they are each made up of feuding ethno-sectarian groups or tribes. And perhaps the instability … Continue reading “Political Decentralization Might Help in Conflict-Ridden Countries”

Avoid Drumbeat to Escalate in Syria

Many politicians in Washington–not yet realizing that the still-broken American economy can no longer sustain an informal, globe-girdling U.S. empire—have sought to use Bashar al-Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons on a small scale to escalate U.S. involvement in the Syrian civil war. And it’s not only the economy that won’t support a more muscular … Continue reading “Avoid Drumbeat to Escalate in Syria”

Government Response to Terrorism Needs to Be Dialed Down

The bomb attack on innocent civilians and subsequent shooting of two law enforcement officials was a reprehensible act of terrorism, but the saturation media coverage and resulting societal frenzy is unwarranted and actually harmful. Apparently, the lone surviving terrorist, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, told the FBI, before receiving notice of his Miranda rights, that he and his … Continue reading “Government Response to Terrorism Needs to Be Dialed Down”

Targeted Killings in the Drone War – Illegal and Unconstitutional

Up until recently, we were all laboring under the illusion that U.S. Pakistani “friends” had reluctantly agreed to allow the United States kill al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban with drone attacks on their soil in exchange for bucket loads of cash in foreign aid. Now we find out that, right from the start, the … Continue reading “Targeted Killings in the Drone War – Illegal and Unconstitutional”

North Korea Is Like a Misbehaving Child – Ignore It

No doubt exists that North Korea’s recent belligerent and irresponsible rhetoric is kinda scary. The question, of course, is how to respond to it. The usual response of a superpower, which conducts an overly militarized foreign policy, is counter-threats and intimidation. The United States pulled out its most fearsome weapons—the B-2 stealth bomber, the B-52 … Continue reading “North Korea Is Like a Misbehaving Child – Ignore It”

Irresponsibility in the Department of Defense

Many Americans – except perhaps the very small percentage nowadays who actually have served in the American armed forces – have a stereotypic image of "military efficiency" and thus assume that any cuts to the defense budget will make the nation less secure. In reality, however, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has the same … Continue reading “Irresponsibility in the Department of Defense”

United States Plays Into the Hands of Despotic Dictators

Recent events surrounding North Korea and Iran and past U.S. pressure on autocratic rulers indicate that trying to isolate such despots is exactly what they want. So why does the U.S. government continue to blunder into these failed policies? The answer is that human nature takes over. If a brutal, authoritarian ruler, such as Kim … Continue reading “United States Plays Into the Hands of Despotic Dictators”

Should Reagan or Harding/Coolidge Be the Model for Conservatives to Follow?

As usual, at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), speaker after speaker idolized the stylized image of Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately, humans believe images, which often diverge from reality; that’s why advertising on TV works. The same is true in politics. And since politics depends heavily on selling yourself, accusations from the left were misplaced … Continue reading “Should Reagan or Harding/Coolidge Be the Model for Conservatives to Follow?”