Tag: syria

Anti-American Violence Should Provoke Rethink

The attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four U.S. diplomats, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, is the latest example of tragic blowback from the U.S. government’s interventionist foreign policy in the Islamic world. That it happened on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an even more severe example of such … Continue reading “Anti-American Violence Should Provoke Rethink”

Intervention Backfires in Libya

The attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya and the killing of the U.S. ambassador and several aides is another tragic example of how our interventionist foreign policy undermines our national security. The more the U.S. tries to control the rest of the world, whether by democracy promotion, aid to foreign governments, or bombs, the … Continue reading “Intervention Backfires in Libya”

Left and Right Call for Escalation in Syria

For some time, Sen. John McCain and the Wilsonian neoconservatives have been beating the drum to escalate the U.S. intervention in Syria. Now, from the other side of the political spectrum, the Wilsonian progressives are calling for the same solution. The hawks on the left and right abhor each other on most policy issues, but … Continue reading “Left and Right Call for Escalation in Syria”

Christ Almighty! US Foreign Policy vs. Middle Eastern Christianity

The US State Department has quietly ceased cataloging violations of religious freedom in its “Country Reports on Human Rights.” Of course, it’s just a coincidence that this comes at a time when Washington is allying with radical Islamists in Libya, Syria, and Iraq. As CNS reports: “The U.S. State Department removed the sections covering religious … Continue reading “Christ Almighty! US Foreign Policy vs. Middle Eastern Christianity”

Quagmires Are Often Just a Few Steps Away

Despite its massive annual federal budget deficits and national debt, the American superpower continues to meddle in faraway countries that pose little direct threat to U.S. national security. Examples of those nanny-like interventions have recently occurred in Syria and South Sudan. The U.S. Pentagon and State Department, having learned the wrong lessons from post-American-invasion Iraq, … Continue reading “Quagmires Are Often Just a Few Steps Away”

The Natural Map of the Middle East

“Apart from political maps of mankind, there are natural maps of mankind. … One of the first laws of political stability is to draw your political boundaries along the lines of the natural map of mankind.” So wrote H.G. Wells in “What Is Coming: A Forecast of Things After the War” in the year of … Continue reading “The Natural Map of the Middle East”

Moving Toward War in Syria

Listen to Rep. Paul deliver this address. Last week, the House passed yet another bill placing sanctions on Iran and Syria, bringing us closer to another war in the Middle East. We are told that ever harsher sanctions finally will force the targeted nations to bend to our will. Yet the ineffectiveness of previous sanctions … Continue reading “Moving Toward War in Syria”

The Bloodlust of Walter Russell Mead

Good news — the Syrian rebels are mellowing! McClatchy news agency reports from the front lines: “Abu Abdullah said that the [rebel military] council had ordered the executions of some 150 men since the beginning of the conflict, but that the rate had declined as the rebels feel the neighborhood is ‘cleaned’ of pro-regime elements. … Continue reading “The Bloodlust of Walter Russell Mead”

No Military Intervention in Syria

The brave, nonviolent Syrian challenge to a brutal dictatorship emerged as part of the Arab risings across the region. But that short Syrian spring of 2011 has long since morphed into an escalation of militarization and death. The International Committee of the Red Cross acknowledged what many already recognized: Syria is immersed in full-scale civil … Continue reading “No Military Intervention in Syria”