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Donald Trump, U.S. President
Just as the Constitution proscribes, the peaceful transfer of power from the 44th President of the United States to the 45th took place at 12:00pm January 20, 2017.
In his inaugural address, Donald J. Trump maintained the “Make America Great Again” campaign mantra that helped sweep him into office. And he took the theme of “transfer of power” a step further, saying “we are transferring power from Washington, DC and giving it back to you, the American people.”
He re-emphasized “America first” and promised to follow “two simple rules: Buy American and Hire American.”
A new chapter in U.S. history is about to be written.
Michelle Obama: This Issue Is Personal for Me
[W]hen I had the honor of meeting Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head just for trying to go to school, this issue got really personal for me….That’s why I decided to work on global girls’ education as first lady…
Featured Commentary
Will Turkey Revive its Reform Agenda?
A once dynamic society surrounded by unstable neighbors, which benefited from a set of progressive economic, social, and political reforms over the past decade and was ready to assume a leading role on the global stage, Turkey is now visibly going through one of its most challenging periods in the republic’s history.
Quick Takes
Obama Addresses UNGA for Final Time
Delivering his final address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Barack Obama called on the world to move forward with “a better model of cooperation and integration.”
US Defense Department
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Recent Opinion and Commentary
Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria
National Review - David French
So, what did Trump do? Did he implement his promised Muslim ban? No, far from it. He backed down dramatically from his campaign promises and instead signed an executive order dominated mainly by moderate refugee restrictions and temporary provisions aimed directly at limiting immigration from jihadist conflict zones.
Farewell to Eugene Cernan, the Last Man to Walk on the Moon
Time - Jeffrey Kluger
The final footprints he left in the lunar soil before stepping onto the ladder turned 44 years old a few weeks ago. It is a mark of America’s loss of cosmic daring that they remain the freshest of all of the many prints NASA astronauts made during the course of six landings.
The CIA’s Trump Challenge
Real Clear World - John McLaughlin
If the intelligence is sound, then everyone is entitled to articulate their own interpretation of the data. They are not, however, entitled to their own facts — even as they reserve the right to question the sources from which said facts are derived.
Trump Will Inherit the Biggest NATO Buildup in Europe Since the Cold War
The Atlantic - David Frum
The second-most dangerous thing in international politics is to draw a red line without truly meaning it…[b]ut the very most dangerous thing is to blur a red line that really is there. Donald Trump’s persistent soft talk invites the Russians to misconstrue what’s on the other side of that line.
Bring Back Balanced Power to Washington
USA Today - Tom Coburn
The American people want their power back. The American people no longer trust their government….They’re tired of watching a money-gobbling, D.C. machine crank out policies that don’t work, don’t help, and don’t line up with what the Constitution says the federal government should and should not be doing.
President-elect Trump, Trust Your Spies
CNN - David A. Andelman
The CIA and the myriad other agencies that should make the American President the world’s best-informed head of state cannot become scapegoats for any bad decisions or ill-conceived instincts. The consequences would be altogether catastrophic for his presidency and for the very security of the United States.
Kabila Has Overstayed His Welcome
The Christian Science Monitor - Editorial Board
Joseph Kabila has served two terms as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the limit under that country’s constitution. Yet when his term of office officially ended Dec. 19 he was still in the executive’s chair, arguing that the nation was not yet prepared to hold an election.
The 33 Minute Threat
The Washington Times - Ed Feulner
We’re very good at responding when we’re attacked. Look at how America rallied when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, or when al Qaeda destroyed the World Trade Center and crippled the Pentagon….But part of the job of providing for the common defense is anticipating threats, not merely reacting to attacks.
Thanks to No Drama Obama, American Leadership Is Gone
The Washington Post - Richard Cohen
If Dec. 7, 1941, is the day that Franklin D. Roosevelt said “will live in infamy,” then Dec. 20, 2016, has got to be a close second….Turkey, Iran and Russia met in Moscow to settle matters in the Middle East. The United States wasn’t even asked to the meeting.
Putin Sees a Happy New Year
The New York Times - Michael Khodarkovsky
Mr. Putin referred to Joseph Goebbels, the notorious Nazi minister of propaganda, as “a talented man who knew that the more incredible the lies, the quicker people believe them.” The quote, which he was using to condemn the West’s supposed misrepresentation of Russian history, was in fact the best indication of Mr. Putin’s own creed.
We Have a Stake in Syria, Yet We Have Done Nothing
The Washington Post - Se. John McCain
As with past atrocities, Aleppo’s destruction inspired much high-minded talk and the illusion of action. Endless meetings in the gilded palaces of Geneva and Vienna and elsewhere. Red lines drawn and transgressed with no consequences….the name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame.
What the Murder of the Russian Ambassador Might Mean
The American Interest - Walter Russell Mead & Damir Marusic
Neither Russia nor Turkey has any interest in blowing this out of proportion. Rapprochement between the two countries has been coming along nicely after relations hit rock bottom following Turkey’s shoot-down of a Russian fighter jet more than a year ago, and both sides have more to gain by having the relationship staying on track…