The Truth About Western “Colonialism”

July 29, 2015 victorhanson

How the misuse of a term legitimizes the jihadist myth of Western guilt.

by Bruce S. Thornton // Defining Ideas

Language is the first casualty of wars over foreign policy. To paraphrase Thucydides, during ideological conflict, words have to change their ordinary meaning and to take that which is now given them.

One word that has been central to our foreign policy for over a century is “colonialism.” Rather than describing a historical phenomenon––with all the complexity, mixture of good and evil, and conflicting motives found on every page of history––“colonialism” is now an ideological artifact that functions as a crude epithet. As a result, our foreign policy decisions are deformed by self-loathing and guilt eagerly exploited by our adversaries.

Continue reading “The Truth About Western “Colonialism”” →

Executive Tyranny: The Problem’s Bigger Than Obama

February 3, 2014 victorhanson

by Bruce S. Thornton // FrontPage Magazine

Barack Obama is threatening to bypass Congress and use executive orders to achieve the policy changes he can’t get through legislation. “We are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help that they need,” he said during the State of the Union address. “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone.” Here seemingly is one more item in the indictment of Barack Obama’s arrogant dismissal of the Constitutional order, and his contempt for mixed government. Continue reading “Executive Tyranny: The Problem’s Bigger Than Obama” →

Is China copying the old imperial Japan

January 9, 2014 victorhanson

by Victor Davis Hanson // Tribune Media

In the 1920s, Japan began to translate its growing economic might — after a prior 50-year crash course in Western capitalism and industrialization — into formidable military power. Continue reading “Is China copying the old imperial Japan” →

Surreal and Suicidal: Modern Western Histories of Islam

October 10, 2013 victorhanson

by Raymond Ibrahim // RaymondIbrahim.com

The full magnitude of the modern West’s ignorance of its own past recently struck via RaymondIbrahim.com me while rereading some early history books concerning the centuries-long jihad on Europe. The historical narrative being disseminated today simply bears very little resemblance to reality.

Consider some facts for a moment:

A mere decade after the birth of Islam in the 7th century, the jihad burst out of Arabia. Leaving aside all the thousands of miles of ancient lands and civilizations that were permanently conquered, today casually called the “Islamic world”—including Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and parts of India and China—much of Europe was also, at one time or another, conquered by the sword of Islam. Continue reading “Surreal and Suicidal: Modern Western Histories of Islam” →

Watching the Middle East Implode

September 12, 2013September 17, 2013 victorhanson

Only when we recognize the fundamental role Islam plays in the region can we begin to craft sensible policies that put U.S. interests first.

by Bruce S. Thornton // Defining Ideas

The revolutions against dictators in the Middle East dubbed the Arab Spring have degenerated into a complex, bloody mélange of coups and counter-coups, as have happened in Egypt; vicious civil wars, like the current conflict in Syria; a resurgence of jihadists gaining footholds in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Sinai; and a shifting and fracturing of alliances and enmities of the sort throwing Lebanon and Jordan into turmoil. Meanwhile, American foreign policy has been confused, incompetent, and feckless in insuring that the security and interests of the United States and its allies are protected. Continue reading “Watching the Middle East Implode” →

An Irrelevant Middle East

May 2, 2013May 20, 2013 victorhanson

Thanks to oil discoveries elsewhere, the region is losing its geostrategic clout.

by Victor Davis Hanson

National Review Online

Since antiquity, the Middle East has been the trading nexus of three continents — Asia, Europe, and Africa — and the vibrant birthplace of three of the world’s great religions. Continue reading “An Irrelevant Middle East” →

The Palestinian Playbook

September 24, 2012February 12, 2013 victorhanson

by Bruce Thronton

Frontpage Magazine

The most depressing thing about the Obama administration’s foreign policy debacle unfolding in the Middle East is that for sixty years we’ve repeatedly experienced the same Islamist game plan for defeating us that is being employed today. There is no tactic currently being used by the Muslim Brothers and other jihadist groups that wasn’t perfected by the Palestinian Arabs in their fight to destroy Israel. Continue reading “The Palestinian Playbook” →

America’s Problem of Assimilation

May 28, 2012February 21, 2013 victorhanson

by Bruce S. Thornton

Defining Ideas

The current Supreme Court term has been dominated by the Constitutional challenge to the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare legislation better known as Obamacare. Continue reading “America’s Problem of Assimilation” →

Let Sleeping Germans Lie

May 28, 2012February 21, 2013 victorhanson

by Victor Davis Hanson

Tribune Media Services

The newly elected French Socialist president, Francois Hollande, is warning Germany that Mediterranean ideas of “growth,” not Germanic “austerity,” should be the new European creed. Continue reading “Let Sleeping Germans Lie” →

Elizabeth Warren and the Frauds of Diversity

May 10, 2012February 25, 2013 victorhanson

by Bruce S. Thornton

FrontPage Magazine

For anyone familiar with the American university and its gospel of multicultural diversity, the revelation that Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren exploited her 1/32 Cherokee ancestry to pass as a minority is a dog-bites-man story. Continue reading “Elizabeth Warren and the Frauds of Diversity” →

Tag: Imperialism

The Truth About Western “Colonialism”

How the misuse of a term legitimizes the jihadist myth of Western guilt.

Like this:

Executive Tyranny: The Problem’s Bigger Than Obama

Like this:

Is China copying the old imperial Japan

Like this:

Surreal and Suicidal: Modern Western Histories of Islam

Like this:

Watching the Middle East Implode

Only when we recognize the fundamental role Islam plays in the region can we begin to craft sensible policies that put U.S. interests first.

Like this:

An Irrelevant Middle East

Thanks to oil discoveries elsewhere, the region is losing its geostrategic clout.

Like this:

The Palestinian Playbook

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America’s Problem of Assimilation

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Let Sleeping Germans Lie

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Elizabeth Warren and the Frauds of Diversity

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How the misuse of a term legitimizes the jihadist myth of Western guilt.

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Only when we recognize the fundamental role Islam plays in the region can we begin to craft sensible policies that put U.S. interests first.

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Thanks to oil discoveries elsewhere, the region is losing its geostrategic clout.

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