Foreign Affairs
In post-holiday catching up of some favorite columnists, I learn from Christopher Hitchens that Fidel Castro, near death, has commissioned the construction of a Russian Orthodox cathedral in the capital of a country that completely lacks adherents to that religion. Hitchens soundly hypothesizes a desire on the part of Castro to solidify Cuba’s ties with…
Being from an AP report, the headline is rapidly submerged in lest-you-think-this-is-good-news “context,” but it’s worth noting, nonetheless: Iraq’s Christians, a small minority in the overwhelmingly Muslim country, quietly celebrated Christmas on Thursday with a present from the government, which declared it an official holiday for the first time. … In his homily on Thursday,…
Up there in far off Boston, Jeff Jacoby opines that the president elect hasn’t thus far exhibited an accurate understanding of the world’s opinion of the United States: Sure enough, much of the international reaction to Obama’s election has been ecstatic. “Legions of jubilant supporters set off firecrackers in El Salvador, danced in Liberia, and…
Abe Greenwald on The Baltic Missile Crisis? And you think the Russians haven’t listened carefully to the video in this post, where Obama essentially promises to unilaterally disarm? That video took me right back to reliving the nuclear freeze movement in 1983. Or they haven’t noticed Obama’s lack of historical knowledge? BTW, how about this?…
Today’s the 25th anniversary of the Hezbollah bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut. On my way to work, I pass a memorial to Edward Iacovino of Warwick, who lost his life that day. Though it’s been a quarter of a century, for Elizabeth Iacovino, who lost her son Edward S. Iacovino at the…
From the New York Times…Under pressure over impending impeachment charges, President Pervez Musharraf announced he would resign Monday, ending nearly nine years as one of the United States’ most important allies in the campaign against terrorism. Speaking on television from his presidential office here at 1 p.m., Mr. Musharraf, dressed in a gray suit and…
Prompted by Andrew’s post, allow me point to Gerard Baker of the London Times, who has more to say: Once again, the Europeans, and their friends in the pusillanimous wing of the US Left, have demonstrated that, when it come to those postmodern Olympian sports of synchronized self-loathing, team hand-wringing and lightweight posturing, they know…
Hm. Some are crediting NBC’s Olympic ratings success to the individual pursuits of swimmer Michael Phelps. There’s ratings data to back it up: For Phelps’ first gold medal – in the 400-meter individual medley – last Saturday night, NBC drew 24.4 million viewers; for his second gold, on Sunday, 33 million; Monday, 30.2 million; and…
After President Bush announces at West Point in 2002 that American strategy will evolve beyond containment in response to new threats, the left responds… What!?!? The United States is abandoning containment? Containment is how we all worked together to win the Cold War. Our strategy must be based on containment! Containment! Containment! Containment! After the…
Victor Davis Hanson is must reading: In reality, to the extent globalism worked, it followed from three unspoken assumptions: First, the U.S. economy would keep importing goods from abroad to drive international economic growth. Second, the U.S. military would keep the sea-lanes open, and trade and travel protected. After the past destruction of fascism and…