Harry S. Truman

January 25, 2017 | Clifford D. May

Defending the civilized world

In an inaugural address that was more purposeful than poetic, President Trump last Friday vowed to “unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from...

August 3, 2016 | Clifford D. May

Curb your socialism

Groucho Marx famously said he wouldn’t join any club that would have him as a member. Bernie Sanders last week turned that on its head, saying he wouldn’t remain a member of...

April 14, 2016 | Clifford D. May |

Can America change course?

As you watch the circus that is the 2016 presidential campaign, which candidate strikes you as having a coherent vision of national security for the post-Obama era? Who has told you what he (or s...

January 14, 2016 | Michael Ledeen |

The Iranians “Arrest” Our Sailors, “13 Hours” Gives You Dots To Connect

Last night, we went to see a preview of the new documentary movie about Benghazi, “13 hours.” The audience was one of those Washington groups that contained real expertise, including...

December 9, 2015 | Clifford D. May |

Divided We Fall?

“Divide and conquer” describes an age-old military concept: If your enemies are fighting among themselves, they can’t effectively battle you. Phillip II of Macedon, Julius Caesa...

November 25, 2015 | Clifford D. May |

Memo to Presidential Campaign Advisers

This memorandum is addressed to the brave souls advising presidential candidates. As you know, the recent terrorist attacks in France – and in Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Lebanon, Turke...

June 25, 2015 | Aykan Erdemir |

Europe Needs Greece

The Greek debt crisis has become so complicated that we now have digests and timelines to guide us through the saga. In this spirit, the Bertelsmann Foundation recently released an infographic de...

March 18, 2015 | Jonathan Schanzer |

Why the Media Always Gets Israeli Elections Wrong

The era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [is] coming to an end,” read one ...

December 17, 2014 | Clifford D. May

America Needs Its Rough Men

In spring 2009, I was invited to debate “torture” with Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show.” He gave me an opportunity to make a case with which he vehemently disagreed. He did...

December 16, 2014 | Benjamin Weinthal |

Analysis: ‘One-Handed Economist’ Needed to End Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program

With Iran and the world powers meeting on Monday in Geneva for a new round of negotiations to end the Islamic Republic’s illicit nuclear weapons program, the question arises: How vulnerable...

January 30, 2013 | Lee Smith Tablet

Eisenhower’s New Fans

Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel look to the 34th president as a foreign-affairs model. But is it a willful misreading?

January 23, 2013 |

The Last Liberal: The Legacy of Joe Lieberman

In January 2004, the New Republic endorsed Joe Lieberman for president. By this time, recriminations against Democrats who had supported the Iraq War (or, in the parlance of the American...

January 17, 2013 | Clifford D. May

Osama and the Two Nazirs

Their deaths are instructive.

November 15, 2012 | Clifford D. May Scripps Howard News Service |

Oliver Stone’s Party Line

Re-litigating the Cold War and defending the honor of poor old Joe Stalin.

August 29, 2012 | Clifford D. May |

Ban Ki-moon Over Tehran

Proof – as if more were needed – that the UN is broken beyond repair.

August 9, 2012 | Clifford D. May |

Jeane Kirkpatrick’s War

It was against totalitarianism. And it’s far from over.

August 9, 2012 | Clifford D. May |

Jeane Kirkpatrick’s War

It was against totalitarianism. And it’s far from over.

May 2, 2012 | Lee Smith Tablet |

The Israel Lobby’s GOP Past

The influence of the late Benzion Netanyahu over his son Benjamin, the prime minister of Israel, is perhaps the most over-discussed Oedipal theme in the psycho-history of international affairs. B...

February 27, 2012 | Michael Ledeen The Wall Street Journal |

Santorum Was Right About Iran—When It Was Unpopular

A grandfather who fled Mussolini taught him to prize freedom.

November 9, 2011 | Lee Smith Tablet

Grand Strategy

Contrary to Washington wisdom, Israel is a clear strategic asset to the United States.