Fellow Citizens No Longer?
If we believe that our opponents are not just wrong, but evil, violence against them becomes an acceptable response.
Prudence and Presidential Pardons
While it may sound strange to some, the idea of restraint in war helps to civilize a brutal human activity and to limit the descent of soldiers into barbarism. But war also gives rise to ambiguous situations.
The Foundations of the ‘Administrative/Deep State’
Reversing the administrative state will take a major effort. Recognizing that it exists and that it is not merely unconstitutional but in fact anti-constitutional is at least a beginning.
Praetorianism and
the ‘Deep State’
Article II gives the president sweeping powers to conduct foreign affairs and negotiate with leaders of other nations. It does not grant any such power to unelected bureaucrats to act in ways that demonstrate they approve or disapprove of foreign policy—even when they are "deeply troubled" by it.
The Perils of Praetorianism
Do we really want to normalize the view that the military is the protector of republican government?
Slandering the American Founding
Well, it’s settled. Everything we thought we knew about the American Founding is wrong. The real Founding is not the Declaration of Independence in 1776 […]
The Democrats’ Looming Self-Destruction
I was raised a Democrat. My parents, like most people of their generation (Depression and World War II), were Roosevelt Democrats. I, like most of […]
China vs. A Liberal World Order
For six decades after the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Great Britain was able to underwrite a liberal world order based on freedom of navigation […]
Ignoring Socialism’s Countless Corpses
[fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_ rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_ ] [fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_ rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_ ] An old joke goes like this: Q. What did […]
Distinguishing Abortion from Infanticide
We have reached a pivotal moment on abortion. New York recently legalized late-term abortion up to the moment of delivery and repealed a law requiring […]
America Needs Nationalism to Survive
In a speech commemorating the centenary of World War I, French President Emmanuel Macron recently condemned nationalism as “the opposite of patriotism,” which most everyone […]
Kavanaugh’s ‘Popeye Moment’
People of a certain age will remember what I like to call a “Popeye moment.” Popeye, confronted by some injustice, exclaims “that’s all I can […]
Renegotiating America’s Role in the World: Avoiding the British Precedent
After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Great Britain pursued a grand strategy of primacy, based on the concept of what Robert Gilpin has called […]
A Look at Helsinki from a Friendly Critic
President Trump took a risk by meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday. My friend and sometimes colleague, Angelo Codevilla, with whom […]
Civil-Military Relations in the Age of Trump
Healthy relations between America’s civil and military populations depend upon the mutual trust, respect, and understanding between civilian and military leaders. This promotes the exchange […]
Is There an Emerging ‘Trump Doctrine’?
The candidacy and subsequent election of Donald Trump to the presidency caused a great deal of consternation among the U.S. foreign policy establishment, Democrat and […]
The Soldier Returns: The Veteran’s Odyssey
What does America owe its veterans? Perhaps the best answer to this question came from my friend, Julie Ponzi, in response to a review I […]
How Bergdahl’s Case Perverts Military Justice
In his 60-year old classic study of U.S. civil-military relations, The Soldier and the State, the late Samuel Huntington observed the traditional attitude of liberal […]
Colin Kaepernick and His Own Lady Macbeth
OK, I confess it. I love football. God help me, I love it so! I played in high school and college and I love the […]
What Would a Fair Transgender Policy in the Military Look Like?
President Trump’s announcement via Twitter last week that he would discontinue administrative directives ordering the armed forces to accommodate transgender men and women in the […]