cliff may

  • May: The Qatar ultimatum

    May: The Qatar ultimatum

    In the war against terrorism, some nations are with us, some are against us and some are both In the aftermath of the terrorist atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush drew a line in the sand. “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make,” he announced. “Either you are…


  • May: The battles of Britain and Egypt

    May: The battles of Britain and Egypt

    Jihadis aspire to ‘cleanse’ the Islamic world and force the West to submit The slaughter of 22 concert-goers in Manchester May 22 was followed four days later by the murder of 29 Christians traveling by bus to a monastery in the desert south of Cairo. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for both attacks. In an internet…


  • May: Iran’s latest unfree and unfair election

    May: Iran’s latest unfree and unfair election

    The Islamic Republic isn’t a democracy, but a theocratic dictatorship News must be new but it needn’t be surprising. The decidedly unsurprising news out of Iran last week: There was an election (of sorts) and the winner was Hassan Rouhani, the incumbent president. An apparently mild-mannered cleric with a beatific smile, he has presided over…


  • May: Border security and immigration made simple

    May: Border security and immigration made simple

    Utilizing market forces and modern technology would serve American interests The nation-state is a relatively new idea – scholars generally trace it back to the 17th century. It has its flaws but has anyone come up with a better approach to world order? A nation-state enjoys sovereignty over its territory. Territories are separated by borders. Securing…


  • May: Faithless

    May: Faithless

    Religious freedom, the most basic liberty, is under attack in more and more lands “I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom.” So said President George W. Bush in 2004. Leave for another day the debate over whether such a belief is more hopeful than realistic. What we…


  • May: Why Boeing and Airbus deals with Iran shouldn’t fly

    May: Why Boeing and Airbus deals with Iran shouldn’t fly

    Aiding and abetting terrorists is bad business Sometimes international law is ambiguous. Sometimes not. When it comes to murdering civilians and using chemical weapons to get the job done, there are no grey areas, no fuzzy lines, no mitigating circumstances. Such practices are clearly and specifically prohibited under what’s called “the law of war.” That…


  • May: The end of Turkey’s democratic experiment

    May: The end of Turkey’s democratic experiment

    Erdogan now has the power to make his country more authoritarian and more Islamist On the grounds of the Turkish Embassy facing Massachusetts Ave. in Washington, D.C. is a statue of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, father of the Republic of Turkey, the nation-state he built from the rubble of the defeated Ottoman Empire and Islamic caliphate.…


  • May: A mission accomplished in Syria

    May: A mission accomplished in Syria

    President Trump is re-establishing the power of deterrence If you’re still unsure about whether President Trump did the right thing when he launched 59 cruise missiles at Syria’s Shayrat airbase last week, consider the alternative. He knew that Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad had yet again used chemical weapons to murder Syrian civilians, women and children…


  • May: Letting freedom fade

    May: Letting freedom fade

    Surrendering liberty has become the Western response to Islamist threats Whatever happened to Charlie Hebdo? For years, the French satirical magazine threw spit balls at polite society. Its writers and cartoonists particularly delighted in ridiculing religions and pieties. Some people found that amusing and thought-provoking. Others were appalled and offended. Such is life in a…


  • May: A bloody day in London town

    May: A bloody day in London town

    The ideologies driving the carnage can’t be fought until they’re understood “The Kafir’s Blood Is Halal For You, So Shed it.” That’s just one of the catchier headlines in a recent issue of Rumiyah, a slick online magazine published by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL. A “kafir,” of course, is a…


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