“Welcome to the world’s next failed state,” writes Ned Parker, the former Baghdad bureau chief for the LA Times. He’s talking about Iraq, a country the US military and countless diplomats tried very hard to mould into a representative, safe, friendly democracy. Though much of the blame rests with Iraqi officials, America’s democratic Iraq project […]

I’ve been attending a State Department lunch for British prime minister David Cameron today and found myself thinking about some recent points Joel Kotkin and Shashi Parulekar have made about the prospects for the English speaking world.China’s rapid growth over the last decade, coupled with the world financial crisis that has left Western states struggling […]

Following the Solyndra debacle, the Energy Department’s “green technology” loan program has hit a familiar new snag—massive slowdowns and bureaucratic red tape have brought the program to a standstill. The New York Times reports that a wave of companies have had their loan applications withdrawn or rejected, and many green energy companies are complaining that […]

It has not been a good month for America in Afghanistan. Three weeks after U.S. soldiers sparked nationwide riots by burning copies of the Koran, a lone American opened fire on civilians inside their own homes, killing at least 16 villagers, many of whom were children.President Obama entered office pledging to end the war in […]

While Obama’s “pivot” to Asia has gathered most of the headlines in the past few months, he isn’t the only world leader looking East. In an intriguing piece in The Diplomat, Richard Weitz claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning an Asian pivot of his own, looking to boost his country’s profile in […]

The Tablet is an international Catholic weekly published in Britain. It was founded in 1840, a time when British Catholics still suffered from various civil disabilities. Today it is a very useful source of information about events and ideas in the world of the Roman faith. In its issue of February 18, 2012, it published […]

Nicolas Sarkozy is running scared. Socialist candidate Francois Hollande has wrong-footed the embattled French President by running against the bankers and finance capital, always a popular move in France–and one particularly damaging to Sarkozy. As Reuters reports: Sarkozy is battling to shake off the image that he is a friend of the rich, which has […]

A United Nations advisory NGO has made a startling discovery: great historical works of literature may contain prejudices that were common currency at the time of their writing. Thankfully, when it comes to Dante’s Divine Comedy, reports The Telegraph, they’ve decided to do something about it: The classic work should be removed from school curricula, […]

South Korea has long maintained singular military focus on its capricious neighbor to the North. Recently, however, its attention has begun shifting toward China, thanks to a territorial dispute over a submerged rock in the ocean between them. China recently renewed its claim to the Leodo rock, near South Korea’s Jeju island, prompting alarmed officials to […]

On a beautiful spring day in Washington, complete with daffodils and cherry blossoms, I’m stuck indoors sucking down Cherry Coke Zero (the official beverage of Via Meadia) and organizing some thoughts to give a talk later this afternoon at AEI.For those interested in attending, the event is on the 12th floor of 1150 17th St. […]