First, the weirdness… Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday during a meeting in New York that the new GOP majority in the House will “serve as a check” on the Obama administration, a statement unusual for its blunt disagreement with U.S. policy delivered directly to a foreign leader. “Eric [...]

Jake Tapper, the ABC News Senior White House Correspondent, reports that Secretary Clinton will announce the administration’s new policy toward the government of Sudan. And that policy is controversial: U.S. officials acknowledge the reaction from human rights groups has been mixed. Officials from the groups largely agree with the Obama administration’s goals to implement the [...]

There’s a difference between sensationalism and lying…and the above is a lie. The US has known that Iran had a second “secret” nuclear plant since at least 2002-2003. Here’s more from The Policy Page: The truth is that Iran only decided to reveal the existence of the uranium enrichment operation to the International Atomic Energy [...]

Doug points this one out, and if true, well, no wonder France took a pass on backing us in Iraq. French journalist Jean-Claude Maurice recounts the tale in his book release in March, Si Vous le Répétez, Je Démentirai (If You Repeat it, I Will Deny). From Secular Humanism: President George W. Bush told French [...]

This one’s a puzzler. The potential 2012 candidate who has the least foreign policy knowledge since George W. Bush is the #1 choice for GOPers when it comes to keep us safe? More at True/Slant.

The Obama administration has undoubtedly breathed a sigh of relief after the pro-western coalition won yesterday’s parliamentary vote in Lebanon. After the president’s big speech about improving relationships between America and the Mid-East, a Hezbollah win in Lebanon would have been seen by many as a strong rebuke to Obama. Of course, calling the election [...]

Obama has arrived in Cairo to give a major speech that is expected to focus on improving ties with the Islamic world. One speech alone is obviously not going to be enough. The Islamic world is angry enough with the West that they are unlikely to suddenly forgive us just because the US has a [...]

Well, North Korea has the world’s attention. Exploding a nuclear bomb and launching missile tests will do that. All that’s left now is for the world to respond. North Korea has long been a foreign policy conundrum, frustrating a long line of U.S. presidents who’ve attempted to stop the so-called hermit nation from threatening its [...]

Looks like Iran decided to remind us why we don’t want that nation getting nuclear weaponry: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran test-fired a new advanced missile Wednesday with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel, southeastern Europe and U.S. bases in the Middle East. Experts believe Iran is still six to [...]

Usually, when people debate why the conservative movement has hit hard times, they argue about whether Republicans are fiscally conservative enough or whether they are too focused on social issues. Rarely does the third tent pole of modern conservativism get mentioned: the national security conservatives. But that’s the exact group to blame argues Daniel Larison [...]

“I don’t consider him a particularly reliable source of information.” – Hillary Clinton on Dick Cheney Washington Post has more on the “Return of Hillary Clinton“ It wasn’t the most stirring defense, but a defense it was, and it served as a reminder of Clinton’s relatively low-profile in the first months of her tenure. To [...]

Barack Obama’s handshake with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has managed to upset more than a few observers. Of course, the negative reaction from the right has been so predictable and overblown, there’s been little room for a more reasonable critique of Obama’s performance in Latin America. Thankfully, Eugene Robinson, writing for the Washington Post has [...]

(Egypt’s 1973 October War Panorama Museum — NY Times photo) One of my biggest regrets during my post-college backpacking jaunt through Cairo was that the October 1973 War Panorama Museum was closed. Like a kid stretching his neck over the fence at a shut-down amusement park, I stared through the iron grates at a sculpture [...]

Fred Kaplan has an excellent article in Slate detailing why North Korea is so hard to deal with and how Obama should proceed after the recent missile launch. Over the last few decades, our policies towards North Korea have seemed to be all talk and no action. We’ve all but wagged our finger off. Kaplan [...]

“There is no such thing as a neoconservative foreign policy.” – Richard Perle talking to a gathering sponsored by National Interest magazine. WTF?! Dana Milbank digs through this nonsense… So what about the 1996 report he co-authored that is widely seen as the cornerstone of neoconservative foreign policy? “My name was on it because I [...]

Well, Joe Biden did warn us that our adversaries would challenge Barack Obama if he was elected. Looks like North Korea is doing just that. In a statement released today, the government in Pyongyang said the North is prepared for war against the South and would consider retaliating if the U.S. and South Korea go [...]

The Obama Administration may be trying out a kinder, gentler style of foreign policy, but Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has already put North Korea on notice: test a long-range missile and they can forget about a better relation with the U.S. While in Japan, Clinton responded to North Korea’s assertion the nation has a [...]

When the important matters of our day are all but forgotten, I think the Clintons will still be remembered, if not accurately, then at least as meaningful figures of their time. Inside that couple is a Shakespearean play. Too bad all we have so far is Primary Colors. As you all know, today marked Hillary [...]