“Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Turkey this week,” Reuters reported yesterday, “as part of a trip to Western Europe and Asia to consult allies on issues including Syria’s civil war.” Turkey? An “ally?” In United States foreign policy-making, perception often lags reality. Presidents George W. Bush and President Barack Obama assumed …
Across our world in which 7.1 billion people dwell, 2.2 billion (or 31 percent) are Christians. They pray in mega-churches across America, in isolated villages in China, and in thousands of places in between. More and more, they pray in fear. That’s because, as the Hudson Institute’s Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Nina Shea outline …
“Put yourself in their shoes,” President Obama said of the Palestinians, imploring his Israeli audience in Jerusalem to work for peace. “Look at the world through their eyes.” A fine sentiment, smoothly expressed. But if, on his recent swing through Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, Obama hoped to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, he will …
Continue reading “Soothing words in Israel won’t pull peace from Mideast flames”
Another attack on free speech. Another cowed governmental response. Another speaker in hiding. Another incident for the media to ignore. Ah, just another day in the West. The latest outrage comes from the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands, where a doctoral student who interviewed a group of teenaged Muslim-Turkish immigrants on TV about their …
In response to last week’s column, in which I bemoaned U.S. and Western dithering while Bashar al-Assad slaughters his people, I received a friendly but skeptical e-mail from Diana West, the engaging conservative columnist and one of Western civilization’s most ardent defenders. “Hi, Larry,” she wrote. “Hope you’re well. Before we pull another Libya/Egypt – …
The death of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez prompts two questions, the answers to which will have enormous implications not just for his country but for the United States, Latin America, and points far beyond. First, will the government Chavez left behind conduct a fair election to replace him, which is supposed to occur within 30 …
Continue reading “Chavez’s Death A Huge Opportunity – If Venezuelans Can Seize It”
Debates about Iran’s nuclear program tend to occur on the governmental level. We study the regime, weigh its motives, judge whether it would use nuclear weapons to pursue its apocalyptic visions, and decide whether it’s “containable” in the way that Washington contained a nuclear Moscow. Sometimes overlooked, however, are tens of millions of individuals who …
Continue reading “Iran’s human rights horror: another reason to fear its nukes”