The Stepping Stones to the Ukraine Crisis

by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner 

Each step to the present Ukrainian predicament was in and of itself hardly earth-shattering and was sort of framed by Obama’s open-mic assurance to Medvedev to tell Vladimir that he would more flexible after the election.

Limbic viz Flickr
Limbic viz Flickr

Indeed, Obama, as is his wont, always had mellifluous and sophistic arguments for why we had to take every soldier out of Iraq after the successful surge; why we needed to drop missile defense with the Poles and Czechs; why we needed both a surge and simultaneous deadline to end the surge in Afghanistan; why we first issued serial deadlines to Iran to ask them to please stop proliferation, then just quit the sanctions altogether just as they started to work; why we needed to “lead from behind” in Libya; why the Muslim Brotherhood was largely secular and legitimate and then later not so much so; why we issued redlines and bragged about Putin’s “help” to eliminate WMD in Syria, and were going to bomb and then not bomb and then maybe bomb; why we kept pressuring Israel; why we cozied up to an increasingly dictatorial Turkey; why we reached out to Cuba and Venezuela; and why we sometimes embarrassed old allies like Britain, Canada, and Israel. Continue reading “The Stepping Stones to the Ukraine Crisis”

Three American Teacher Slaughtered for Christian Faith in Muslim World

by Raymond Ibrahim // CBN News 

Why was Ronald Thomas Smith II, an American teaching at Benghazi’s International School, shot to death last Thursday in Libya, even as he “was looking forward to his first Christmas in

Ronald Smith with wife and child
Ronald Smith with wife and child

the United States with his wife and toddler son”?

Most Western media and analysts dismiss the killing as a random act of violence incited by a recent al-Qaeda video.

However, by connecting the dots and looking at precedence, it appears that Smith’s Christianity, specifically his talking about it among Muslims, was the motive behind the slaying.

First consider two facts gleaned from the AP report, “American killed in Benghazi remembered as ‘much loved teacher’”: 1) Smith once had plans to attend seminary, a place devoted to preparing Christians to share the Gospel—a crime according to Islamic law (recall the Coptic Christians tortured and killed on the accusation that they were proselytizing in Libya); 2) according to his home church in Texas, “Ronnie’s [Smith’s] greatest desire was for peace and prosperity in Libya and for the people of Libya to have the joy of knowing God through Christ” (emphasis added). Continue reading “Three American Teacher Slaughtered for Christian Faith in Muslim World”

Syria in a Nutshell

by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner 

We are contemplating going to war in Syria to help the opposition a lot and to hurt Assad some, or to help the opposition some and hurt Assad a lot, or to hurt Assad some and help the opposition some, or to force Assad to stop or to leave, or to stop but stay, or to stop and leave; or to restore the word of the president, or the word of the United States, or the word of the international community by bombing, or by threatening to bomb but not bombing, or by neither threatening to bomb nor bombing; or to warn the Russians to stay out, or to welcome the Russians to come in, or to warn the Russians to stay out and welcome the Russians to come in. Message? We are planning to do all kinds of things by not doing anything. Continue reading “Syria in a Nutshell”

Now What?

by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner

Via FlickrEveryone can agree that Obama’s handling of the crisis has been puerile, and that there now are only the proverbial bad and worse options—the  result being not whether the U.S. loses credibility, but only how much and for how long. So what comes next? Continue reading “Now What?”

The Middle East: All Bad Choices

From Libya to Iran, our past actions have drastically limited our current choices.

by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online

Survey the Middle East, and there is nothing about which to be optimistic.

Iran is either fueling violence in Syria or racing toward a bomb, or both. Continue reading “The Middle East: All Bad Choices”

Libyan Intelligence: Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi Involved in U.S. Consulate Attack

by Raymond Ibrahim

RaymondIbrahim.com

According to a Libyan intelligence document, the Muslim Brotherhood, including Egyptian President Morsi, were involved in the September 11, 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, where several Americans, including U.S. ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, were killed. Continue reading “Libyan Intelligence: Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi Involved in U.S. Consulate Attack”

Pick Your Scandal

Violating Americans’ privacy while failing to identify the terrorists among us.

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

All can agree that the Obama administration is mired in myriads of scandals, but as yet no one can quite figure out what they all mean and where they will lead. Continue reading “Pick Your Scandal”

What the Obama Scandals Reveal About Progressive Ideology

by Bruce S. Thornton

FrontPageMag.com

The three scandals dominating the news this week all reveal the moral and intellectual corruption at the heart of progressive ideology. Continue reading “What the Obama Scandals Reveal About Progressive Ideology”

Oh What a Tangled Web

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Supporters of President Obama have dubbed those who question administration statements about Libya as either partisans or conspiracy theorists, on the premise that the administration had no reason to dissimulate. But in fact, it had plenty of political reasons not to be candid, as the following questions make clear. Continue reading “Oh What a Tangled Web”

Sophocles in Benghazi

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

What separated the great Athenian tragedian Sophocles from dozens of his contemporaries — now mere names attached to fragments and quotations — were his unmatched characters, an Ajax, Antigone, or Oedipus whose proverbially fatal flaws ultimately led to their own self-destruction. Continue reading “Sophocles in Benghazi”