The hysteria from U.S. “conservatives” over the White House’s decision not to base missile defense systems in the Czech Republic and Poland has been as shrill as it was predictable. The editors of National Review, the flagship publication of the right-liberal half of the establishment, rose to the bait: The president has sent a chilling message about American resolve in the … [Read More]

The Blackwater affair has all the clichéd elements of Hollywood conspiracy “thrillers”: an atrocity cover-up, a right-wing Christian villain at the helm of a powerful corporation, assassinations, and illicit sex. Blackwater (now known as Xe for image reasons) is the world’s most powerful security firm, having expanded its operations in tempo with U.S. intervention in the Middle East. And for the … [Read More]

Germany’s future lies to its Right. Otto von Bismarck, Germany’s prince of diplomacy, once remarked, “With France we shall never have peace; with Russia never the necessity for war, unless Liberal stupidities or dynastic blunders falsify the situation.” While all is thankfully quiet on the Western front, Berlin is taking a page from the Iron Chancellor’s playbook and forging strategic links … [Read More]

The United States and Russia appear to be gearing up for a second round of the Cold War. Washington still hopes to extend its reach deep into Moscow’s zone of interests, and the Russians intend to resist. Most of the action will be characterized by espionage and covert operations, but the clash is more than just a grudge match over territory … [Read More]

In 1914, on the very eve of the Great War, G.K. Chesterton published his humorous novel The Flying Inn. The story concerned a Turkish plot to invade England, all with the connivance of Britain’s progressive elite. At the superficial level, Chesterton’s fears of the Ottoman Empire must have seemed preposterous. Turkey had long been the “sick man of Europe,” and it … [Read More]

Americans can sleep easier after months of jitters over the decisive issue in U.S. foreign policy. We’ve all been on edge for weeks, but it’s time to take a deep breath and relax; a bright new era has dawned. So when you tuck the kids in tonight, rest assured their future is secure. It’s official—Croatia and Albania have joined NATO. Now … [Read More]

As the Obama administration tries to replicate the surge in Afghanistan and expands actions in Pakistan, U.S. strategic planners would do well to read Andrew Bacevich’s excellent review of yet another work on counterinsurgency. Bacevich isn’t shy in questioning the entire point of the so-called Long War. The effort to impose some modern notion of “stability” onto tribally based societies is … [Read More]

In U.S.-Russian relations, red buttons don’t evoke pleasant imagery. For the past 50 years, pushing the red button would ensure the bloom of mushroom clouds over Washington, Moscow, and a great many other cities east and west of the iron curtain.  Yet only last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her advisors deemed it clever to present Russian Foreign Minister … [Read More]