Iraq–Agony, Ordeal, and Recovery

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

I. The Case for Invasion

Wise

The Bush administration built a broad domestic coalition and an adequate foreign alliance (more inclusive than the UN-sanctioned effort against North Korea in 1950). Continue reading “Iraq–Agony, Ordeal, and Recovery”

Why Did We Invade Iraq?

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

On the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, the back-and-forth recriminations continue, but in all the “not me” defenses, we have forgotten, over the ensuing decade, the climate of 2003 and why we invaded in the first place. The war was predicated on six suppositions. Continue reading “Why Did We Invade Iraq?”

War’s Paradoxes II: From the Peloponnesian War to ‘Leading From Behind’

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

1. Why Did Athens Lose the Peloponnesian War?

It really did not in a way: Athens no more lost the war than Hitler did the Second World War between September 1939 and May 1941. Instead it was defeated in a series of wars (only later seen as elements of one long “Peloponnesian War”) against a litany of enemies — none in isolation necessarily fatal, all in succession and ultimately together lethal. Continue reading “War’s Paradoxes II: From the Peloponnesian War to ‘Leading From Behind’”

War’s Paradoxes II: From the Peloponnesian War to ‘Leading From Behind’

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

1. Why Did Athens Lose the Peloponnesian War?

It really did not in a way: Athens no more lost the war than Hitler did the Second World War between September 1939 and May 1941. Continue reading “War’s Paradoxes II: From the Peloponnesian War to ‘Leading From Behind’”

Bush Reconsidered

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

George W. Bush left office in January 2009 with one of the lowest job-approval ratings for a president (34 percent) since Gallup started compiling them — as compared to Harry Truman’s low of 32 percent, Richard Nixon’s of 24 percent, and Jimmy Carter’s of 34 percent — and to the general derision of the media.
Continue reading “Bush Reconsidered”

The Middle East Mess

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Most polls show a decided unease to preempt in Iran, at least for now. The nearly inexplicable failure to encourage the 2009 Iranian protests seems more regrettable each month. Continue reading “The Middle East Mess”

Syrian Ironies

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

The more Bashar Assad butchers Syrian dissidents, the more the world community expresses outrage — while it does little to stop the bloodletting. Why? Continue reading “Syrian Ironies”

Obama Derangement Syndrome?

by Victor Davis Hanson

PJ Media

I’d say if you live in the United States of America and you vote for George Bush, you’ve lost your mind. — John Edwards

When does the legitimate “I oppose Obama” descend into the illegitimate “I hate Obama”? Continue reading “Obama Derangement Syndrome?”

Panetta’s Failure of Imagination: The Defense Secretary Gives Israel a ‘Turn of the Screw’

by Bruce S. Thronton

FrontPage Magazine

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s “chiding” of Israel, as the Washington Postput it, was a strange performance, so muddled in its ignorance of fact and logic that one wonders if the Secretary was attempting some rhetorical misdirection to lull our enemies into complacency. Continue reading “Panetta’s Failure of Imagination: The Defense Secretary Gives Israel a ‘Turn of the Screw’”

The Arab Winter Approaches

by Bruce S. Thornton

Defining Ideas

The revolutions against Arab autocracies — dubbed the “Arab Spring” — have been greeted in America with bipartisan celebration. Continue reading “The Arab Winter Approaches”