In ancient history and the sack of Rome, lessons for today: Writing from the vantage point of the eighteenth century, Gibbon did not go into extensive detail of the Vandal assault, except to note that the Romans willingly opened their … Continue reading →
Check this out [hat tip: commenter “sdferr”]: President Obama didn’t require Iranian leaders to sign the nuclear deal that his team negotiated with the regime, and the deal is not “legally binding,” his administration acknowledged in a letter to Representative … Continue reading →
Well worth reading, and containing some surprising and little-known facts: Yet most of the Syrian refugees have been taken in not by Western countries but by Syria’s neighboring states: Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, whose capacity has been overwhelmed. Lebanon, with … Continue reading →
This story is still breaking, and it’s hard to sort out all the facts. But one fact that seems clear is that it has great potential to lead to a serious conflagration: Turkish warplanes have shot down a Russian military … Continue reading →
The best approach to ISIS would have been prevention, an ounce of it worth far more than a pound of cure. An obvious move would have been to have kept a small residual force in Iraq, back when even Obama … Continue reading →
France responds. Why on earth was this not done earlier? Was it because everyone was hoping the crocodile would eat them last?: The operation, carried out in coordination with U.S. forces, struck a command centre, recruitment centre for jihadists, a … Continue reading →
One evening a while back, I began looking at old videos of Jacques Brel. The last thing I imagined was that the question of politics would rear its ugly head. What an arresting guy! I became curious (as I often … Continue reading →
The issue was raised in a comment by “Phil D,” here. The answer is contained in this 2005 article from the Weekly Standard. Pay particular attention to page three. It is very detailed and cannot really be summarized here. However, … Continue reading →
In 2004, Lee Harris wrote a book called Civilization and Its Enemies. It’s a relatively short volume; only 220 pages in hardcover, and the print’s not small. But it’s dense with thought-provoking ideas. I don’t agree with everything Harris says, … Continue reading →
The NY Times is having one of its rare intermittent lapses into (relatively mild) sanity. Don’t worry; it’s unlikely to last long. But, like it or hate it, the Times still moves a great many liberal Democrats, who still consider … Continue reading →
Suicide terrorists have killed at least 86 (probably more) at a Turkish peace rally in Ankara: The explosion, which caused chaos and bloodshed, took place during a peace march involving, among others, the pro-Kurdish HDP, or People’s Democratic Party. The … Continue reading →
There really are no good guys in Syria, says Andrew C. McCarthy: To repeat, in Syria, there has never been a vacuum – i.e., a void created by the failure to cultivate a viable opposition. Yes, there are some moderates … Continue reading →