Those who might have nodded off after the first hour of President Obama’s third State of the Union address were surely brought back to consciousness by the startling claims on foreign policy and global leadership in the last third of the speech. As did much of the speech as a whole, it had a kind of Alice in Wonderland quality to it. “America is back,” proclaimed the President, who had just boasted of his ignominious troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq. “Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you … More

Speaking last night from the U.S. Capitol, President Barack Obama described the state of the Union as he sees it — strong and getting stronger, with future growth fueled by his pursuit of progressive policies and an expansion of government, all architected to bring about his brand of “fairness.” The President essentially redelivered his 2011 State of the Union address — complete with the same empty rhetoric, class warfare cloaked in “fairness,” and proposals for massive tax and spending increases. The speech was notable for the items he did not … More

Before the Speech Begins – Emily Goff: Previewing tonight’s speech this past weekend, Mr. Obama said: “We can go in two directions. One is towards less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for…building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few.” The President must not understand that an economy based on free-enterprise with limited government involvement will, in fact, work for and benefit more than just the wealthy. His administration’s idea of an economy that works involves imposing heavy-handed government regulations and threatening tax increases at … More

The Obama Administration is using a new buzzword when referring to its national security strategy: “reversibility.” In the most recent Defense Strategy Guidance, this term is described as “a key part of our decision calculus” and essentially states that the military will maintain a smaller force that can be built up rapidly to respond to national security threats. Rather than attempt to reverse dramatic defense budget cuts, the Administration seems to be creating the illusion of a responsible strategy that will not leave our future armed forces weakened and less … More

Last Thursday, Iran and Turkey signed an agreement aimed at increasing trade between the two countries and doubling bilateral business by 2015. The agreement was inked by Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi and Turkish Minister of the Environment and Urban Planning Erdo?an Bayraktar following the 23rd session of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission of the two countries. This is an important signal to the United States and its allies: Ankara refuses to march to the Western drumbeat. It takes one step forward agreeing to deploy NATO missile defense, only … More

As President Obama has hastily drawn down forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to meet arbitrary timelines, he has taken the opportunity to ramp up rhetoric on a strategic military shift to the Asia–Pacific region. He recently made it clear in the new defense strategy guidance that military focus will be directed toward emerging threats in the region and stressed that security needs will drive the budget, contrary to recent concerns that fiscal constraints have directed miserly defense spending. In spite of this rhetoric, the defense budget has been cut dramatically … More

This bill would give the US government the power to strip Americans of their citizenship without being convicted

when it comes to violating the Constitutional delegation of war powers, they generally draw up their strategy from the same playbook.

President Obama’s new national defense strategy is a budget-driven exercise masquerading as a strategic plan, writes Heritage’s Kim Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of State, in The Washington Times. In trotting out the new strategy, President Obama said the “tide of war is receding.” Accordingly, U.S. forces will “no longer be sized to conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations” (read: Iraq). But is the tide of war receding on the world stage? And how does he know that the U.S. will not need to engage in another “stability operation”? The Army shed … More

An Iranian court handed down a death sentence yesterday for Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, a 28-year-old Iranian–American man, for allegedly spying for the CIA. Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq as an Arabic language translator, was born in Arizona, raised in Michigan, and traveled to Iran to visit his grandmother. The U.S. State Department has denied that he is a spy, accused Iran of once again pressing false charges against an American citizen, and called for his release. Hekmati’s parents said that they were “shocked and terrified” by … More