The Middle East

T-Ball War in the Middle East

by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services Classical explanations of conventional wars run something like this: An aggressor state seeks political advantage through military force. It has a hunch that the threatened target will likely either make concessions to avoid losing a war, or, if war breaks out, the resulting political gains will be worth …

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The Ghosts of 1938 Still Haunt Our Foreign Policy

by Bruce Thronton Frontpage Magazine In a story describing President Obama’s six conversations with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi that led to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, the New York Times summarized Obama’s estimation of Morsi. Obama told his aides “he was impressed with the Egyptian leader’s pragmatic confidence. Share This

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The Absurdity of Treating a Terrorist Gang Like a State

by Bruce Thornton Frontpage Magazine The currently suspended missile duel between Israel and Hamas exposes yet again the surreal absurdity of the way the international community handles this conflict between a democratic state and a terrorist gang. Yesterday’s cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas is another example of the folly of treating a bunch of …

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Oh, We Forgot to Tell You . . .

by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services The second-term curse goes like this: A president (e.g., Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, etc.) wins re-election, but then his presidency implodes over the next four years — mired in scandals or disasters such as Watergate, Iran-Contra, Monica Lewinsky, the Iraqi insurgency and Hurricane …

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World Order, Under Siege?

by Victor Davis Hanson Defining Ideas What seems sometimes incomprehensible in the contemporary world makes perfect sense — if we pause and study a little history. Share This

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The Neurotic Middle East

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online Let us confess it: Many of the things that are bothersome in the world today originate in the Middle East. Billions of air passengers each year take off their belts and shoes at the airport, not because of fears of terrorism from the slums of Johannesburg or because …

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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 …

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Obama’s Middle East Delusions

by Victor Davis Hanson PJ Media The Premodern Middle East and Postmodern West Don’t Mix, Mr. President Globalization certainly did not bring the premodern world of the Middle East closer together with the postmodern West — despite Barack Obama’s 2007 narcissistic vows that his own intellect and background could bridge such a gap. Share This

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Obama on the Middle East

by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online The last three and a half years, Barack Obama has gone out of his way to bow, apologize, contextualize, and scapegoat in order to win Middle Eastern affection. Yet, his reset, “Bush did it” policy is now in shambles, and he apparently has nothing with which to replace …

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