Tag: War

War on IS/ISIL/ISIS: How a War on a Name Means Bomb Everyone

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“Degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIL is the mission for Syria. But few people have considered what it would take to make good on those seemingly simple and direct words. The complexity of the mission is implied by the name of the target itself: are we at war with the “Islamic State”? Or is it the … Continued

Five Reasons the U.S. War on ISIS Is About Nation-Building

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America is once again at war in the Middle East, dropping bombs and inserting “advisers” on the ground in two countries. Americans seem supportive of the stated mission – destroying one division of the cross border insurgency known as ISIS – but they will increasingly grow tired of the actual mission: regime change in Syria. … Continued

Why the Real Goal of Obama’s War on ISIS Is Regime Change in Syria

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Last year, war-weary Americans forced President Obama and congressional leaders to abandon an ill-advised attack on the Assad regime in Syria. Now, nearly one year to the day later, the president has decided that it is again time to drop bombs in Syria. But this time, the targets will be a subsection of the rebels, known … Continued

Watergate: America’s Finest Hour

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Many people think of the 1970s and Watergate as low-water marks in America’s political history, but personally, I think of it as one of our finest hours. For once, the system worked. The president and vice president were forced to resign in disgrace for their crimes. The attorney general and deputy attorney general resigned on principle, … Continued

Small Government Is Popular–The GOP Isn’t

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Everybody Hates John Boehner The other day, two seemingly contradictory stories appeared in my inbox almost simultaneously. The first was yet another story on how unpopular the Republican Party is right now, thanks to their doomed, incoherent budget strategy: “NBC/WSJ poll: Shutdown debate damages GOP.” The short of it is that only 24% of Americans … Continued

Is President Obama Ending Perpetual War, Or Institutionalizing It?

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“President Obama Vows to End the Perpetual War”–so reads the New York Times‘ editorial about President Obama’s speech on counter-terrorism policy. The Times hailed the president’s remarks as a “momentous turning point in post-9/11 America,” but given Mr. Obama’s history of broken pledges, failed expectations, and underwhelming performance, we are less than enthusiastic about this latest among … Continued