An American Satyricon
Our elites would be right at home in Petronius’s world of debauchery and bored melodrama. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online Sometime in the mid-first century a.d., an otherwise little known consular official, Gaius Petronius, wrote a brilliant satirical novel about the gross and pretentious new Roman-imperial elite. The Satyricon is an often-cruel parody about how the […]
Rhetoric Running on Empty
by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner The latest disclosure — and the most grave — of the Assad regime’s supposed deployments of chemical weapons puts the West in general and the U.S. in particular in an untenable position.
America the Trivial
The Kardashians and Anthony Weiner are deemed more worthy of attention than what affects the security and prosperity of our nation. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online Two quite different 21st-century Americas are emerging. The nation is not so much divided by “wars” between the rich and poor, men and women, or white […]
Victor Davis Hanson on the ‘Savior Generals
by Paul Schnee // FrontPage Magazine Victor Davis Hanson is an American military historian, former classics professor, scholar of ancient warfare, a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution and the author of some 20 books. He has been a commentator on modern warfare and contemporary politics for National Review and is a nationally syndicated columnist for […]
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.
In Egypt, Media Sympathizes with Muslim Brotherhood, Persecution of Christians Ignored
by Raymond Ibrahim // NRO’s The Corner While Western media, following the lead of pro-Brotherhood Al Jazeera, continue demonizing the Egyptian military’s attempts to neutralize the Muslim Brotherhood terror bases – where people have been tortured, raped, and killed, all according to Islamist fatwas (yes, including the rape, more on this later) the media portray them as “sit ins” […]
The Siege of the Byzantium
by Raymond Ibrahim // National Review Online Today, August 15, marks the anniversary of Constantinople’s victory over Muslim invaders in what historians commonly call the “Second Siege of Byzantium,” 717–18. Prior to this massive onslaught, the Muslims had been hacking away at the domains of the Byzantine empire for nearly a century. The Muslims’ ultimate goal […]
Egyptian Military Warns Obama: ‘Supporting Terrorism’ in Egypt is ‘Red Line’
by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com According to a report titled “Sisi to Pentagon: We will not turn back, sovereignty is a red line,” published in Watan newspaper (Saturday, August 17 edition), Egyptian Maj. Gen. Muhammad al-’Assar has just issued a strongly worded letter to the Pentagon, on behalf of the Egyptian military council, saying, among other things, […]
Murbarak’s Muslim Brotherhood Prophecy
by Raymond Ibrahim // Gatestone Institute In a video of Hosni Mubarak when he was still Egypt’s president, the strategies of which he accuses the Muslim Brotherhood have come to pass. What follows are Mubarak’s words from a conference in Egypt (date unknown; author’s translation):
Don’t Know Much About Geography
by Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media Services In Sam Cooke’s classic 1959 hit “Wonderful World,” the lyrics downplayed formal learning with lines like, “Don’t know much about history … Don’t know much about geography.”
Obama’s Middle East Mess
When we don’t support our potential allies and encourage constitutional rule, Egypt is the result. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online In Egypt the Obama administration has managed to alienate the military, secular constitutionalists, the Islamists, and the proverbial street all at once. How and why?
Obama Bets Against Human Nature — and Usually Loses
by Victor Davis Hanson // PJ Media There are many ways to learn about the bleaker aspects of human nature. One would be to run a pizza shop, or regularly to have to clean a public restroom. Perhaps giving close attention to the text of Thucydides might give a more abstract lesson. Also, the Old and […]
Egyptians Enraged by U.S. Outreach to Muslim Brotherhood
by Raymond Ibrahim // PJ Media In the eyes of tens of millions of Egyptians, Senators John McCain’s and Lindsey Graham’s recent words and deeds in Egypt—which have the “blessing” of President Obama—have unequivocally proven that U.S. leadership is aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Walls of Hate: Anti-Christian Graffiti Vandalizes Egypt
by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com With the ousting of Muhammad Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood, the homes and churches of Egypt’s Christians are seeing an unprecedented rise in anti-Christian graffiti. The following are some of the pictures that were recently disseminated, captioned with translation of graffiti and location information. The name of Coptic Pope Tawadros […]
Our Postmodern Angst
In our unheroic age, victimhood has replaced valiant struggle. by Victor Davis Hanson // National Review Online In the globally connected and affluent world of the 21st century, we thankfully have evolved a long way from the elemental poverty, hunger, and ethnic, religious, and racial hatred that were mostly the norm of the world until the […]
The Mother of All Scandals
by Victor Davis Hanson // PJ Media IRS? A system of voluntary tax compliance cannot survive a dishonest IRS. Lois Lerner and company have virtually ruined the agency. For the foreseeable future, each time an American receives a tax query, he will wonder to what degree his politics ensures enhanced or reduced scrutiny — or whether […]
Al Qaeda Flag Flies High Above Christian Churches
by Raymond Ibrahim // Gatestone Institute Days ago, al-Qaeda’s Egyptian leader, Ayman Zawahiri, portrayed the overthrow of Muhammad Morsi and the Brotherhood as a “Crusader” campaign led by Coptic Pope Tawadros II who, according to Zawahiri and other terrorists, is trying to create a Coptic state in Egypt. Since then, not only are Egypt’s Christians and churches […]
The Return of Al Qaeda and Jihad
by Raymond Ibrahim // FrontPage Magazine With the ousting of Muhammad Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, al-Qaeda has been vindicated and the terror-jihad exonerated, in the opinion of many Islamists, that is.
Putinology
by Victor Davis Hanson // NRO’s The Corner Barack Obama’s cancellation of his Russian visit is the normal sort of diplomat payback for insult and injury — in this case the asylum offered Edward Snowden in the face of administration pleas to send him home for punishment. But with Obama, as with everything with Obama, the […]