Is France heading south? That’s the title of a notable recent interview with political scientist Dominique Moisi over at CFR. Moisi is in some ways the spokesman for the French foreign policy establishment, and so to hear him pronounce pessimistically on several subjects is a good insight into how the French see themselves these days.On […]

Shawn Aiken is an American veteran of two tours of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan but he met perhaps his most formidable foe back home—the Defense Department’s finance and accounting department. During treatment for a brain injury, PTSD, and other afflictions, the Army stopped paying Aiken. His salary for December 2011 came in at $117.99. […]

On July 13, an Armenian named Hrachya Harutiunian was driving a truck through a Moscow suburb when he smashed into a bus, killing 18 people and leaving dozens injured. Days later, when Harutiunian was dragged into court, he was wearing a woman’s flowery house coat and slippers. He appeared shocked and humiliated. A Russian news broadcaster ridiculed his […]

North Carolina Governor Pat McRory last week signed the $21 billion conservative dream budget into law, and it is already getting enormous pushback, especially from teachers’ unions and their supporters.One of the reforms in particular seems like a good idea to us: a provision that ends teacher tenure. Chester E. Finn Jr., president of the Thomas […]

There’s a fascinating piece in the latest Economist arguing that the world’s “supermajor” oil companies—BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon, Total, Shell and Chevron—are facing serious challenges in the near term.Two trends undergird these surprising prediction: First, supermajors have been pushed out of directly controlling oil reserves by various national oil companies (NOCs) like Brazil’s Petrobras and Saudi Aramco, who […]

The State Department issued a worldwide alert to American citizens today with a warning that al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue to plan attacks. Meanwhile, Washington continues to assure us that the “global war on terror” is over.Al-Qaeda is on a “path to defeat,” President Obama announced in May, but today’s warning suggests that that is far from […]

Every few years the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change publishes a report that attempts to assess the state of climate science, as well as other technical and economic issues related to global warming policy. The last major report, the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report (AR4), generated perhaps more controversy than was usual.FT has an excellent profile on […]

Sometimes it’s not what a statesman says in public that matters most, but both how he says it and the context in which he says it.  Case in point: Secretary Kerry’s remarks yesterday in Islamabad.Having written speeches for two Secretaries of State, I am particularly sensitive to such nuances. I am also sensitive to the […]

Images leaked online may show China’s second aircraft carrier under construction. If this story checks out, it would be China’s first homemade carrier. Analysts speculate that such a carrier would be outfitted with a catapult-launch system, rather than the “ski jump” used by its current carrier, the Liaoning (pictured above).The Liaoning isn’t much of a […]

For months massive discontent over a potential rise in out-of-pocket premium expenses under Obamacare has haunted Capitol Hill. Currently, the federal government pays 75 percent of the health insurance premiums for congressional staffers. Senators and representatives feared they would lose staff if this heavy subsidy disappeared as it was scheduled to do under the ACA. The White […]