Imagine two scenarios: 1) A country is attacked by terrorists. In response, it targets the terrorists and the countries that aid those terrorists. It successfully captures a bunch of the terrorists and imprisons them. During the course of its operations, an enlisted man deserts and is captured by the terrorists. Its leader exchanges a handful […]
Entries Tagged as 'Foreign Affairs'
Obama’s Whimsical Foreign Policy
September 11th, 2013 by Myrhaf · 3 Comments · Foreign Affairs
Obama’s Syrian fiasco has been an appalling spectacle of a President who does not seem to think that attacking a country demands serious thought and preparation. Stuart Rothenberg of Roll Call runs down the highlights: First the president of the United States draws a red line, promising action if it is crossed. Then, when Syria […]
Explosive Compound: Immigration Meets The Welfare State
July 7th, 2012 by L-C · 7 Comments · Culture, Foreign Affairs, Politics
Immigration is a hot issue for a number of Western nations, notably America and my country of origin, Sweden. The latter being a notable case is a fact that escapes many of those who don’t count themselves among its 9.5 million people. That is, at least for now; news stories of Sweden’s troubles are starting […]
A Half-Assed Kinetic Military Action
March 30th, 2011 by Myrhaf · Comments Off on A Half-Assed Kinetic Military Action · Foreign Affairs, Politics
There is one line in Obama’s speech on Monday justifying military action in Libya that stands out, amongst a lot of illogic and contradictions, as the real reason: …I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action. The prospect of emotionally wrenching pictures of suffering was too much for […]
The Obama Doctrine
March 25th, 2011 by Myrhaf · 10 Comments · Foreign Affairs, Politics
Some have wondered what the Obama Doctrine is. I believe Bryan Preston at Pajamas Tatler has found it. Obama made this statement in El Salvador: And that’s why building this international coalition has been so important because it means that the United States is not bearing all the cost. It means that we have confidence […]
Damage Control for A Nobel Peace Prize?
October 9th, 2009 by Embedded I · 3 Comments · Culture, Foreign Affairs, Politics
Obama’s response to his Nobel Prize was the best thing I’ve heard from him. He recognizes that it was awarded too soon & reflects no serious achievement. Though his speech changes nothing, & is surely politic, he has, at least, put his award in a relatively sensible context (excluding his absurd mention of climate change). […]
The Nobel Committee’s Wishful Thinking
October 9th, 2009 by Galileo Blogs · 5 Comments · Foreign Affairs
I thought it was a joke in the The Onion this morning when I read the headline, “Obama Wins the 2009 Peace Prize.†For what? He has been in office for nine months and before that was a one-term United States senator. What could he have possibly accomplished so soon that merits such an award?
Israel Looks At Obama
October 8th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 9 Comments · Foreign Affairs
Benjamin Kerstein has written a fascinating essay on how Obama lost the affection of Israel. He had me from the first line: For a politician, there is no more dangerous combination of traits than hubris and ineptitude.
Church and Dictatorship
July 30th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 6 Comments · Foreign Affairs
Bad news out of Russia for those of us who watch the rise of religion with concern: Two stunning initiatives from the Russian government over the past few weeks illustrate a disturbing fusion of religion and politics as Vladimir Putin’s regime makes a final effort to consolidate dictatorship. First, the government announced that it would […]
Arming Our Enemies
July 27th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 4 Comments · Foreign Affairs, Politics
Gene Schwimmer, in a blog post about Obama’s latest move of appeasement, this time of Syria, reminds us: In 2002, George W. Bush went to New Jersey, stood before an audience of his fellow Americans and declared that “we will not allow the world’s worst leaders to threaten us with the world’s worst weapons. In […]
A Foiled Terrorist Plot?
July 14th, 2009 by Myrhaf · Comments Off on A Foiled Terrorist Plot? · Foreign Affairs
Ryan Mauro has a stunning story about what looks to be an attempted terrorist attack that failed last month. This one would have involved commercial jets heading to Phoenix, Arizona. The enemy is still at war with us. Why is something like the Islamic Saudi Academy, which teaches militant Islamism and plays a part in […]
The Up-Side of Brain Drains
July 4th, 2009 by Chuck · 3 Comments · Foreign Affairs
A couple of people on the Harry Binswanger List linked to an article about the Bolivarian Brain Drain. It details the exodus of the best and the brightest under way in Venezuela and those Latin American nations that are modelling themselves on Hugo Chavez’ “21st century socialism.”  To rational and freedom loving people, such a brain drain would […]
Obama On Honduras
June 29th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 6 Comments · Foreign Affairs
As I’ve noted several times, Obama is remarkable for his ability to choose the wrong position on every issue. He has done it again with the turmoil in Honduras.
Hey Man, Nice Shot
June 24th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 3 Comments · Foreign Affairs
83 Talibani are reported killed in a Predator strike. Not all news is bad.
A Telling Response
June 16th, 2009 by Myrhaf · 9 Comments · Foreign Affairs
The American people are getting a dramatic look at what is wrong with their president. The Iranian people are protesting a fraudulent election. In response, the regime of the mullahs is shooting them in the streets. Obama cannot be moved to condemn the regime. Politico reports, “It’s not productive, given the history of U.S.-Iranian relations, to be […]
The Dead End of Appeasement
May 31st, 2009 by Chuck · 4 Comments · Foreign Affairs
What Can the US Do to Ease Tensions With North Korea? That was the headline I saw on Fox News today, while they were discussing the subject with some guest. Of course, the question translates directly into this, more honest one: What can the US do to appease North Korea now, since all previous appeasements have […]
Sinister Altruism
May 26th, 2009 by Amy Nasir · 5 Comments · Foreign Affairs
Brother-love need not get in the way of the “public interest†in China.  An angry passer-by pushed a would-be jumper off a bridge after he held up traffic for five hours.  The pusher’s reason – the jumper was “selfish†and his action “violate[d] a lot of public interests.† Notice the initial false gesture of helping […]
How the West Was Lost
May 21st, 2009 by Chuck · 3 Comments · Foreign Affairs
If you were looking for the reason why we, with the most powerful military in the history of the planet, are struggling to defeat a ragtag collection of dirt poor guerilla fighters, this article from Time lays it out quite plainly, if unintentionally. Time looked at the victory of Sri Lanka over the Tamil Tigers, and […]
The Europeans Punish Success, Again
May 13th, 2009 by Galileo Blogs · 9 Comments · Business, Foreign Affairs
The European antitrust regulator has just announced it will fine Intel Corporation $1.44 billion (1.06 billion euros) because it “harmed millions of European consumers by deliberately acting to keep competitors out of the market for computer chips for many years.” It did this, essentially, by discounting the price it sold chips to stores that agreed […]
