What truly conservative foreign policy looks like
AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY is based on deep convictions. Those who shape it believe the United States is the indispensable nation that must lead the world; this leadership requires toughness; and toughness is best shown by threatening or using force. Beneath these beliefs lies the assumption that the United States knows more and sees further than other […]
Wilson Perfectly Embodies U.S. Hypocrisy. That’s Why We Should Remember Him.
From the genteel halls of Princeton University, students are trying to pull another American hero from his pedestal. It turns out that Woodrow Wilson, who was president of Princeton before becoming president of the United States in 1913, was an outspoken racist. Therefore, the reasoning goes, Princeton should change the name of its Woodrow Wilson […]
Blame the West’s interventions for today’s terrorism
Outside powers have been crashing into the Middle East for more than a century. At first we presumed that people there would not mind, or even that they would welcome us. Ultimately we realized that our interventions were provoking hatred and violent turmoil. We took refuge in another comforting illusion: That no matter how awful […]
Put Syrians before geopolitics
Why has the heart-rending conflict in Syria dragged on for so long, with such horrific results? Part of the reason is our insistence on playing geopolitics while thousands die. We seek abstract advantage rather than concentrating on ending the Syrian war. Geopolitics is fun. It’s about weighing options, measuring interests, and moving pieces on the […]
In Syria, the US has nothing but bad options
Americans are problem-solvers. We love a good solution. Give us a challenge, and we form committees, assess options, come up with a plan and execute it. This is a highly positive trait. In world affairs, though, it can bring us to grief. Syria is burning in part because the United States is waiting for […]
