Western thinking about freedom and democracy is marked by a set of optimistic assertions, which include the following: First, the global advance of freedom and democracy marches ever-onward. Second, economic and political freedoms in a particular nation walk hand in hand, each reinforcing the other. Third, the […]
Read more →“Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Turkey this week,” Reuters reported yesterday, “as part of a trip to Western Europe and Asia to consult allies on issues including Syria’s civil war.” Turkey? An “ally?” In United States foreign policy-making, perception often lags reality. Presidents […]
Read more →Across our world in which 7.1 billion people dwell, 2.2 billion (or 31 percent) are Christians. They pray in mega-churches across America, in isolated villages in China, and in thousands of places in between. More and more, they pray in fear. That’s because, as the Hudson Institute’s […]
Read more →“Put yourself in their shoes,” President Obama said of the Palestinians, imploring his Israeli audience in Jerusalem to work for peace. “Look at the world through their eyes.” A fine sentiment, smoothly expressed. But if, on his recent swing through Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, Obama […]
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Of Iran, nukes, and ponies
Fresh off the failure of Almaty, where global negotiators again received nothing for their slavish effort to convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear pursuit, Western diplomats insisted that talks would continue. “There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue,” a Western diplomat told Reuters this week. […]
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