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Recent Opinion and Commentary
Monday, January 30
National Review - David French
Trump’s Executive Order on Refugees — Separating Fact from Hysteria
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.
Tuesday, January 17
Time - Jeffrey Kluger
Farewell to Eugene Cernan, the Last Man to Walk on the Moon
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.
Wednesday, January 11
Real Clear World - John McLaughlin
The CIA’s Trump Challenge
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.
Tuesday, January 10
The Atlantic - David Frum
Trump Will Inherit the Biggest NATO Buildup in Europe Since the Cold War
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.
Wednesday, December 28
USA Today - Tom Coburn
Bring Back Balanced Power to Washington
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.
Tuesday, December 27
CNN - David A. Andelman
President-elect Trump, Trust Your Spies
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.
Tuesday, December 27
The Christian Science Monitor - Editorial Board
Kabila Has Overstayed His Welcome
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.
Tuesday, December 27
The Washington Times - Ed Feulner
The 33 Minute Threat
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.
Tuesday, December 27
The Washington Post - Richard Cohen
Thanks to No Drama Obama, American Leadership Is Gone
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.
Tuesday, December 27
The New York Times - Michael Khodarkovsky
Putin Sees a Happy New Year
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.
Friday, December 23
The Washington Post - Se. John McCain
We Have a Stake in Syria, Yet We Have Done Nothing
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.
Wednesday, December 21
The American Interest - Walter Russell Mead & Damir Marusic
What the Murder of the Russian Ambassador Might Mean
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…
Wednesday, December 21
Foreign Policy - José Cárdenas
We Need a Cuba Policy that Truly Serves the Cuban People
Clearly, changes are coming to U.S.-Cuba policy under Trump. But what to replace Obama’s policy with? [N]o one argues for a return to the status quo ante. [T]he President-elect’s new team should seize the opportunity to bring energy and creativity to truly empowering the Cuban people to reclaim their right to decide their own destiny.
Wednesday, December 21
The Washington Times - Jerome Israel
Patching Up Relations with Russia
NATO will celebrate its 70th birthday in 2019. Its original intent was to protect against a resurgence of Germany and to stymie the Communist bear. Times change and so must NATO. The United States and a new NATO must turn to de-escalating tensions with Russia.
Wednesday, December 21
CNN - Peter Bergen
How Trump Can Respond to U.S. Hostage Appeal
Donald Trump prides himself on the art of the deal. With that in mind, he should use the leverage he has to secure the release of the American and other Western hostages held by the Haqqanis in exchange for Anas Haqqani.