Neo-Con War Addiction Threatens Our Future

William Kristol knows what is wrong with the United States. As he wrote recently in the flagship magazine of the neo-conservatives, the Weekly Standard, the problem with the US is that we seem to have lost our appetite for war. According to Kristol, the troubles that have befallen us in the 20th century have all … Continue reading “Neo-Con War Addiction Threatens Our Future”

The Creaming of Paul Ryan

In the first exchange of the presidential election season over foreign policy issues, the neocons — in the person of GOP vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan — got creamed. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Ryan got creamed by Joe Biden — who serves in an administration that is pursuing each and … Continue reading “The Creaming of Paul Ryan”

America’s Last Crusade

For Americans of the Greatest Generation that fought World War II and of the Silent Generation that came of age in the 1950s, the great moral and ideological cause was the Cold War. It gave purpose and clarity to our politics and foreign policy, and our lives. From the fall of Berlin in 1945 to … Continue reading “America’s Last Crusade”

Why the Mideast Exploded

“Why Is the Arab world so easily offended?” asks the headline atop an article by Fouad Ajami, which the Washington Post published online last Friday to give perspective to the recent anti-American violence in Muslim capitals. While the Post described Ajami simply as a “senior fellow” at Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, Wikipedia gives a more … Continue reading “Why the Mideast Exploded”

The Washington Post Gets Tough With Iran

Many Washington pundits understand that the conclusion of a tale very much depends on where one starts. The starting point is how the argument is framed, and if the reader accepts the initial premises, then the rest of the case being made falls into place. Many of the all-too-familiar voices in the foreign policy community … Continue reading “The Washington Post Gets Tough With Iran”

How Bill Kristol Purged the Arabists

After taping John Stossel’s show on May 15 in New York, the Mrs. and I took the 10 a.m. Acela back to Washington. Once we had boarded the train, who should come waddling up the aisle but Bill Kristol. The Weekly Standard editor seemed cheerful, and we chatted about the surge in Mitt Romney’s popularity … Continue reading “How Bill Kristol Purged the Arabists”

Neocons Assail Possible Compromise on Iran Talks

As at least two days of talks on the future of Iran’s nuclear program got underway in Baghdad Wednesday, neoconservatives and other hawks escalated their campaign against any compromise agreement, particularly one that would permit Tehran to continue enriching uranium on its territory. Fearful that the U.S. and the other members of the so-called P5+1 … Continue reading “Neocons Assail Possible Compromise on Iran Talks”

Obama’s Foreign Policy Guru

On the eve of the President’s last State of the Union speech the White House let it be known that a recent essay by Robert Kagan in The New Republic, which excerpted his book, The World America Made, had been sent to his national security staff for their perusal. As the President told reporters beforehand, … Continue reading “Obama’s Foreign Policy Guru”

‘Egypt the Prize’

Imagine the following scenario: a wealthy foreign country decides that the United States is insufficiently democratic. They launch a program to “teach” us the ABCs of “democracy” via a plethora of organizations devoted to “human rights” and “election monitoring,” directly funded by themselves, shipping millions of taxpayer dollars to thousands of well-compensated “activists.” As election … Continue reading “‘Egypt the Prize’”

Neocons Preoccupied With Islamic Conspiracy Theories

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement, for all its flaws, is a genuine expression of the growing recognition in the United States that the government no longer serves the interests of the people. It has been described as an American version of the “Arab Spring,” driven by a sense of popular alienation from the elites … Continue reading “Neocons Preoccupied With Islamic Conspiracy Theories”