Why Are American Troops Still Dying in Syria?

On December 13, 2025, two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed near Palmyra, Syria. According to a Pentagon statement, a lone Islamic State (ISIS) gunman disguised as a shepherd opened fire on a joint U.S.–Syrian patrol, killing three and wounding...

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The Death of Ukraine’s Dream of NATO Membership

Ukraine’s dream of NATO membership is dead. It died, surprisingly, not on the battlefields of Ukraine nor at the negotiating table with Russia. It died in a document written in the White House to be sent to Congress to explain America’s national security vision. The...

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The Siren Song of War

In October of 2002, I shocked many in my Congressional District and beyond by voting against giving President George W. Bush authorization to use military force in Iraq. The night before that vote, my older sister told me a Knoxville television station had conducted a...

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Defending Israeli Mass Murder Isn’t Easy

Although much has already been said, I can’t not comment on Sarah Hurwitz, the former Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama speechwriter, who faults young people (especially young Jews) for applying their power of abstraction in thinking about the Holocaust. What do I mean...

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‘Kill Them All’

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes When the waves turn the minutes to hours?" — Gordon Lightfoot (1938-2023) "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" As we learn more about the events on Sept. 2, 2025, in international waters 1,500 miles from the United States,...

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The Hegseth Killings Must Stop

Last week the Pentagon, under “War Secretary” Pete Hegseth, carried out yet another military attack on a boat in the high seas that the Administration claims is smuggling drugs. That makes 23 boats blown up by the US military in the waters off Latin America – most...

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