http://frontpagemag.com/2012/dgreenfield/how-democrats-turned-china-red-and-egypt-green/ The People’s Republic of China, emerging superpower and fierce red dragon of the Pacific, may well be the rival empire that we will one day have to face down across the ocean. But how did a former ally of the United States turn into a Communist superpower? The answer, as it so often is, […]
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/328884/particulars-polls-michael-barone As a recovering pollster (I worked for Democratic pollster Peter Hart from 1974 to 1981), let me weigh in on the controversy over whether the polls are accurate. Many conservatives are claiming that multiple polls have overly Democratic samples, and some charge that media pollsters are trying to discourage Republican voters. First, some points […]
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/328896/thin-red-line-mario-loyola The time to use force against Iran is not next year. It’s now. Before we get to the nitty-gritty of Israel’s new Iranian red line, let’s be clear about one thing: The U.S. and its allies have already completely botched this whole situation. Ever since the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, we have […]
http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2012/09/30/wapo-attacks-benghazigate/
Evidence is growing that the death of four American officials in Benghazi, including a charismatic and talented ambassador, came at a time when appropriate security procedures and precautions were not being taken. That at least is the burden of this story in the Washington Post, a story that few in the White House will enjoy reading.
As reporters Ernesto Londoño and Abigail Hauslohner put it:
U.S. officials appear to have underestimated the threat facing both the ambassador and other Americans. They had not reinforced the U.S. diplomatic outpost there to meet strict safety standards for government buildings overseas. Nor had they posted a U.S. Marine detachment, as at other diplomatic sites in high-threat regions.
The article only gets more damning; in a paragraph that must have raised blood pressure from Pennsylvania Avenue to Foggy Bottom to the Obama election HQ in Chicago, the Post reports that:
Insecurity has beset Libya since the country’s civil war ended in October 2011 with Gaddafi’s dramatic execution. Militias have been reluctant to disband or surrender weapons. After the U.S. Embassy formally reopened in Tripoli last fall, the U.S. military’s Africa command dispatched a team to help build its security infrastructure. The troops, however, were never assigned to bolster security at the site in Benghazi, said Eric Elliott, a spokesman for the Africa command. Elliott and the State Department could not say why.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443816804578000484118713060.html?mod=opinion_newsreel The latest numbers for durable goods and personal income send an alarming message. Will it be heard? Data released this week by the Commerce Department waved bright red recession flags—orders for durable goods fell 13.2% in August and inflation-adjusted personal income fell 0.3%. President Obama is asking for more time to allow the lackluster […]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443995604578004541000940114.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion A 4-foot cobra slithered across the patrol’s path. The Marines shrugged—a snake couldn’t blow off their legs. Last Thursday the Pentagon announced that joint patrols between U.S. and Afghan troops had resumed after a 10-day hiatus. During that time, our commanders are said to have completed security reviews and beefed up measures to prevent […]
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444712904578024293333633994.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Restore the three sinews of American influence: our economic strength, our military strength and the strength of our values.
Disturbing developments are sweeping across the greater Middle East. In Syria, tens of thousands of innocent people have been slaughtered. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood has come to power, and the country’s peace treaty with Israel hangs in the balance. In Libya, our ambassador was murdered in a terrorist attack. U.S. embassies throughout the region have been stormed in violent protests. And in Iran, the ayatollahs continue to move full tilt toward nuclear-weapons capability, all the while promising to annihilate Israel.
These developments are not, as President Obama says, mere “bumps in the road.” They are major issues that put our security at risk.
Yet amid this upheaval, our country seems to be at the mercy of events rather than shaping them. We’re not moving them in a direction that protects our people or our allies.
And that’s dangerous. If the Middle East descends into chaos, if Iran moves toward nuclear breakout, or if Israel’s security is compromised, America could be pulled into the maelstrom.
We still have time to address these threats, but it will require a new strategy toward the Middle East.
The first step is to understand how we got here. Since World War II, America has been the leader of the Free World. We’re unique in having earned that role not through conquest but through promoting human rights, free markets and the rule of law. We ally ourselves with like-minded countries, expand prosperity through trade and keep the peace by maintaining a military second to none.
But in recent years, President Obama has allowed our leadership to atrophy. Our economy is stuck in a “recovery” that barely deserves the name. Our national debt has risen to record levels. Our military, tested by a decade of war, is facing devastating cuts thanks to the budgetary games played by the White House. Finally, our values have been misapplied—and misunderstood—by a president who thinks that weakness will win favor with our adversaries.
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1722/anti_semitism_on_the_rise_in_the_uk A report published this week by the Community Security Trust (CST) shows that anti-Semitic incidents in the UK have risen in the months January- June 2012, compared with last year’s figures. In the first six months of this year, 513 potential incidents of anti-Semitism were reported to the CST; of which the CST deemed […]
http://www.thecommentator.com/article/1715/liberal_democrat_delusions_on_israel_and_the_one_state_solution
Simon Hughes MP, a senior member of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in Britain’s coalition government, has become the latest public figure to endorse a thoroughly bigoted solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. In a recent interview with The Jewish Chronicle, he said: “We are near to the end of the opportunity of being able to get a peaceful two-state solution because of the extent of the settlements” and called instead for a Plan B.
His alternative plan is a “one state solution” covering Israel and the disputed territories. He believes that this alone can solve this most intractable of conflicts.
Now Hughes is no swivel-eyed fanatic. He does not come across as hysterically critical of Israel as John Pilger, Noam Chomsky or George Galloway do. His language is more measured than theirs and he will have considered his position very carefully.
But in some ways, this makes him more dangerous than the “frothing at the mouth” diehard left-wingers who write for the Morning Post or The Socialist Worker, for he has a veneer of respectability that they lack despite arguing for a formula that is every bit as dangerous as theirs.
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/
If You’re In Tel Aviv, Come To The Demo
Noah Pollak, Executive Director of the Emergency Committee for Israel, says:
“Over the past few weeks we’ve seen anti-American violence and hatred in front of U.S. embassies across the Middle East. In Israel, a different kind of demonstration will take place in front of the U.S. embassy – a pro-America rally.
Friends of the United States will gather on Tuesday, October 2nd at at 5PM in front of the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv (71 HaYarkon Street) to show solidarity and friendship with America. Please forward this email to your friends, join and share the Facebook page for the rally (see here), and encourage anyone who can to show up and wave the American flag in Israel.”
