Earlier this month, Sami Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the former Yugoslavia, was arrested near Tampa, Florida, after federal officials uncovered his plan to unleash terrorism upon the United States. After receiving an anonymous tip, undercover FBI agents met with Osmakac and learned the details of his terror plot. Osmakac described his intentions of setting off car bombs in crowded areas throughout Tampa, following such explosions with high-powered assault weapons attacks against the public. “I want to do something terrifying, like one day, one night, something’s going to … 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

Supporters of Ron Paul have re-launched an old ad promoting the old idea of American isolationism.  “We now are a nation known to start war,” Paul is quoted as saying.  “We feel compelled because of our insecurity that we have to go over and attack these countries to maintain our empire.”  The message here (and repeated elsewhere) is that Paul’s isolationism is aligned with the Founding Fathers and “what is truly American and truly constitutional.” Not only is this refrain a gross misrepresentation of American history but it offers dangerously … More

Russian state television has launched an all-out assault on the new U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul—undeservedly so, although not unexpected. Russia’s Channel One, run by All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), aired a hostile report this week aimed at the ambassador as he begins his tenure in Moscow. The report attacked McFaul personally and hit the Obama Administration for choosing an ambassador who is not a career diplomat. McFaul is an academic who served as Special Assistant to the President and a Senior Director at the National Security Council. … More

Iranian legislator Ali Motahari claimed on Wednesday that President Obama called for direct talks in a secret letter sent last week to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Motahari said that the first part of the letter warned that if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, it would cross a red line that would trigger U.S. military action, and the second part offered to start direct talks with Tehran. Hojjatoleslam Hossein Ebrahimi, the deputy chairman of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on Wednesday that “Obama’s letter … More

Senator Mark Kirk (R–IL) and Congressman Mike Quigley (R–IL) returned from a four-day trip to Poland this week. The bipartisan pair made the journey to discuss an important topic in U.S.–Polish relations: admitting Poland into the Visa Waiver Program. Under the Visa Waiver Program, visitors from friendly member nations are able to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa. To ensure that dangerous individuals do not enter the United States through the program, a visitor must first submit information through the program’s online … More

According to the recent news, the United States will not be signing the European Union Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. This is good news, but it ignores other Administration statements that indicate that the Administration is ignoring congressional calls for avoiding measures that would limit U.S. space operations. According to Ellen Tauscher, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, “it’s been clear from the very beginning that we’re not going along with the code of conduct.” It was not clear in February 2011, when 37 Republican … More

As of midnight, Wikipedia is shut down for 24 hours, and hundreds of other popular websites have gone dark right along with it. They are standing together in protest of two controversial pieces of legislation that threaten Internet security and undermine the freedom of speech all in an effort to crack down on online “piracy” — the illegal distribution of copyrighted material. Hollywood, the music industry, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have gone to bat on behalf of the proposed laws on the grounds that they will help protect … More

Is Congress about to limit freedom of speech on the Internet? Two bills wending their way through the Senate and the House may do just that. The proposals, known as the Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are aimed at stopping foreign-based Web sites from distributing copyrighted material, such as Hollywood movies, in violation of U.S. law. Such online “piracy” is a real problem, and since many of the so-called pirate sites distributing content are based off-shore, they have been able to operate without interference. … More

As Iran’s nuclear weapons program pushes forward, the European Union is dragging its feet on implementing sanctions that would help cripple the Iranian regime’s progress. This week, eight U.S. Senators sent a letter to Lady Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, urging the EU to impose an immediate oil embargo as well as sanctions against the Iranian Central Bank. Despite Iran’s increasing belligerence—test-firing new missiles, threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and announcing the production of its first nuclear-fuel rod—Greece, Italy, … More