Winston Churchill called the surrender of 80,000 British troops to Japanese forces at Singapore in 1942 the most ignominious defeat in British military history.  It also marked the end of the British Empire in Asia; British prestige never recovered from this stunning debacle.Something similar is happening in Singapore this week as the APEC summit brought […]

Dan Drezner points out today on his blog that we are having a spate of ‘end-of-the-world’ movies these days and wonders if this is a product of bad economic times.That’s part of the answer, but end of the world thinking is permeating our culture more ways than one.  ‘End of the world’ scenarios shape our […]

I see that Hugo Chavez is calling on all patriotic Venezuelans to shed a few kilos to promote revolutionary health.There’s nothing wrong with that, and as someone who has fought the good fight against counter-revolutionary muffins and pies, I can sympathize with this latest phase in the progress of Bolivarian Socialism.But it reminds me of […]

William of Orange, whose birthday falls on November 14, was never a popular man.  He died after his horse stepped into a mole-hole; William’s enemies toasted the health of the “gentleman in the black velvet waistcoat” for decades to come.He was associated with two shocking crimes; after some of his most dangerous political enemies were […]

According to The Washington Post, the Obama administration decided last spring to stop using the phrase “global war on terror.”  The preferred locution these days is “overseas contingency operations”, a phrase that stirs the blood and warms the heart.What soldier would not be proud to die in such a cause?  What child would not immediately […]

When asked about the geopolitical changes sweeping the world since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Henry Kissinger once said that the unification of Germany was more important than the development of the European Union; the collapse of the Soviet Union was more important than the unification of Germany, and the rise of India and […]

The season turned today here at the stately Mead manor in the exclusive borough of Queens.  We have had a long and lush fall; the leaves turned yellow and gold in the award-winning gardens that stretch away from the windows of the blogging room, but up through this morning they clung to the branches.  Autumn […]

President Obama, I suspect, is on a voyage of discovery as he heads into Asia this week. Much of what he finds will displease him.Asia is one part of the world where the Obama administration’s attempt to blame all its problems on its predecessor rings hollow.  George W. Bush did not satisfy everyone in Asia, […]

Today’s headline in the Washington Post tells us that our Ambassador in Kabul, Karl W. Eikenberry, opposes the sending of more U.S. and allied troops to Afghanistan, putting him at odds with the commanding general in that war, General Stanley McChrystal. Eikenberry happens to be a general, too—3-star instead of 4-star, but who’s counting? The […]

It seems appropriate to note this Veterans Day that Americans remain willing to use military force to defend allied nations.  According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 78% of Americans favor rushing to Canada’s defense and only 16% disagree.The mother country is in second place; 73% think the United States should defend Great Britain.Tied for third […]