Hope for Change in Syria

Once again, Obama has proven more of an idealist than an implementer.

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Remember when President Obama used to warn Syria’s Bashar al-Assad to stop his mass killing and step down? Continue reading “Hope for Change in Syria”

Diplomacy: What Not To Do

by Victor Davis Hanson

NRO’s The Corner

1980 Redux

We are in scary times. The horrific photos of Ambassador Stevens bring to mind memories of Mogadishu or Fallujah, and make us ask why were there not dozens, if not vastly more, Marines around him in his hour of need. By preemptively caving into radical Islam and not defending the US Constitution and our traditions of protecting even uncouth expression, the Cairo embassy’s shameful communiqué only invited greater hostility by such manifest appeasement. Continue reading “Diplomacy: What Not To Do”

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”

President Ethelred

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Like old King Ethelred the Unready, who either had no counsel or had no sense, or both, and often paid the Danegeld rather than attempt to deter the Norsemen, so Barack Obama and his lieutenants still believe that they can both appease radical Islam and convince others that is not what they are doing. Continue reading “President Ethelred”

Storming Embassies, Killing Ambassadors, and ‘Smart’ Diplomacy

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

The attacks on the US embassy yesterday in Cairo and the storming of the American consulate in Libya, where the US ambassador was murdered along with three staff members — and the initial official American reaction to the mayhem — are all reprehensible, each in their own way. Let us sort out this terrible chain of events. Continue reading “Storming Embassies, Killing Ambassadors, and ‘Smart’ Diplomacy”

Obama in Never-Never Land

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

The chief tenet of postmodernism is that truth and facts are arbitrary constructs, set up by the privileged to manipulate others less fortunate. In the case of our first postmodernist president, Barack Obama, there cannot be facts, past or present, only a set of shifting assertions that gain credence to the degree that they prove transitorily useful for progressive causes. Continue reading “Obama in Never-Never Land”

The Muddle East

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

No one has any idea what the Middle East will look like next year, much less in five years — especially the revolutionary players themselves. Continue reading “The Muddle East”

Iraqi Irony

by Victor Davis Hanson

Tribune Media Services

Amid all the stories about the ongoing violence in Syria, the most disturbing is the possibility that President Bashar Assad could either deploy the arsenal of chemical and biological weapons that his government claims it has, or provide it to terrorists. Continue reading “Iraqi Irony”

Iran’s Win, Win, Win Bomb

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Iran, if not stopped, will join the nuclear club, probably within two or three years. It may be stupid to try to preempt Iran; it may be even stupider not to try. Continue reading “Iran’s Win, Win, Win Bomb”

Obama’s Virtual Rose Garden

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

When Barack Obama went into hibernation in December and vacationed in Hawaii, we noted that his poll numbers edged back up some. Continue reading “Obama’s Virtual Rose Garden”