A European Plea to Biden

Photo credit: REUTERS/Ken Cedeno.

I admire America and feel nothing but deep respect and gratitude for it. Yes, I’m familiar with the reservations among many in Europe, ranging from Vietnam to Guantanamo, from the death penalty to the right to bear arms, from Afghanistan to the second Iraq war. My feelings for America are stronger. That’s because they are […]

How to Defeat the New Axis of Evil

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Two blocs emerged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Iran-backed terror in the Middle East: The Free World and the New Axis of Evil. By supporting each other, the countries of the New Axis of Evil are more dangerous together than they are separately. The Free World countries must design new policies to […]

The Shrinking US Defense Budget: Its Washington Politics and Outlook for the Coming Year

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (center), and Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense (left), testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the proposed 2024 defense budget. Photo credit: Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Congress has never had an easy time passing defense budgets. Despite partisan bickering, however, the Congress has successfully passed 62 consecutive defense authorization acts, including for the current year.     The upcoming year’s budget appears to be a troubling exception. Sadly, the best-case scenario is for a defense budget that will be reduced for a time […]

The United States, Iran, and the Lessons of the Last War

Flags of the United States and Iran side by side and a missile with nuclear symbol in the middle of the two national symbols, illustration

Generals, the old adage goes, are prone to fighting the last war.  Political leaders and the people they represent typically prefer to avoid armed conflict. They have heeded what they have believed to be the lessons of the most recent conflict in which they have been engaged, seeking, in effect, to avoid the last war. […]

Mike McCaul’s Hard Line on the Afghanistan Papers

House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul. Photo credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Everyone recognizes that America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 was a chaotic mess. Even the Biden administration, in a National Security Council document released on April 6, acknowledges the civilian evacuation from Kabul should have been carried out sooner. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul (Republican of Texas) has been adamant that the administration come […]