by Victor Davis Hanson// Defining Ideas As missiles fall on Syria in retaliation for Bashar Assad’s medieval use of chemical weapons—and as voices call for the use of some American ground troops to expedite his removal—we might reflect upon American military interventions in the post-Vietnam era. America’s major interventions include Iraq in 1991, the […]
The Tar Pits Abroad Read More »
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Instead of overcoming challenges, progressive politicians exploit them to expand government. Shortly after the 2008 election, President Obama’s soon-to-be chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, infamously declared, “You never let a serious crisis go to waste.” He elaborated: “What I mean by that [is] it’s an opportunity to do things
Apocalyptic Progressivism Read More »
The Corner The one and only. by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Not all that long ago we were lectured that Obama, with his charisma and savvy, had won over Recep Tayyip Erdogan and formed a new partnership with him that would lead to Middle East stability and a new Turkish omnipresence as a force
What Happened to the ‘Special Relationship’? Read More »
From an Angry Reader: You used to be my favorite columnist, in fact the only one I read. But it seems you’ve recently become overly mesmerized with Trumpism and the resulting anti Obamaism. I wish you’d returned to objective history. Doug Waltner Victor Davis Hanson’s Reply: Dear Sort of Angry Reader Doug Waltner,You should
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review The only thing more dangerous than losing deterrent power is trying to put it back together again. The Tomahawk volley attack, for all its ostentatious symbolism, served larger strategic purposes. It reminded a world without morality that there is still a shred of a rule or two: Do not
Restoring Deterrence, One Bomb at a Time? Read More »
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Both leaders put their successors in a dangerous geopolitical position. Last year, President Obama assured the world that “we are living in the most peaceful, prosperous, and progressive era in human history,” and that “the world has never been less violent.” Translated, those statements meant that active foreign-policy volcanoes
Obama Is America’s Version of Stanley Baldwin Read More »
04/10/17 From an Angry Reader: Mr. Hanson – In your truly myopic article about the Russian/Trump connections you point out the Democrats’ contacts with Russians but you fail to make an apples and apples comparison. You don’t mention BUSINESS and MONEY. You don’t mention Trump making $50 million on a house worth much less in
The Corner The one and only. by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review Syria is weird for reasons that transcend even the bizarre situation of bombing an abhorrent Bashar al-Assad who was bombing an abhorrent ISIS — as we de facto ally with Iran, the greater strategic threat, to defeat the more odious, but less
Hall of Mirrors in Syria Read More »
The Corner The one and only. by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review The House Intelligence Committee fights, the Susan Rice revelations, the stale Russian collusion story, the Gorsuch battle, the Bannon battles, the end of the filibuster, etc. are all different fronts of the same existential struggle: the unlikely Trump victory is unpalatable for the
by Victor Davis Hanson// National Review After eight years of withdrawal, what rules should the U.S. follow to effectively reassert itself in world affairs? The most dangerous moments in foreign affairs often come after a major power seeks to reassert its lost deterrence. The United States may be entering just such a perilous transitional period.
Ancient Laws, Modern Wars Read More »