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Is it the Republicans in the Senate who are the problem and not the Islamic Republic of Iran’s on-going pursuit of being able to massacre hundreds of thousands if not millions of people at the push of a button? Who’s motivations should make us more wary? I can certainly see questioning the appropriateness of the Senate sending a separate message to a hostile nation while negotiations are in progress.Why would they do this; do they simply hate the President personally and want to undermine him for political gain -- as is being implied by his supporters -- or do they...

The recent beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian workers in Libya by Islamic State (IS) affiliates prompted a conversation with Joseph Hakim, President of the International Christian Union (ICU), an umbrella organization that seeks to secure the wellbeing and survival of Middle Eastern Christians. Hakim is a Lebanese-born Orthodox Christian and a proud American.

The old time Kremlinolgists often parsed the detailed biographies of key personnel, especially those newly appointed, to gauge the direction in which policy was moving. For the real news was often not in the banner headlines but in the footnotes. Now those same skills can come in handy in Washington. Today the White House announced the appointment of Robert Malley to replace Phil Gordon as .”Special Assistant to the President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Region. Today, National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice announced that Philip Gordon, Special Assistant to the President...

In this episode, Uncommon Knowledge is honored to have retired four-star General James Mattis. General Mattis retired from the Marine Corps as a full general in 2013, where he served as the eleventh commander of the United States Central Command. He also served as the commander for NATO supreme allied transformation, and as commander of the United States Joint Forces Command. Mattis is now an Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow fellow at the Hoover Institution.

At a super-secret conservative confab last week a long-time friend and ally said that after 30 years of giving lectures and speeches to conservative groups there was only one event where he could show his true colors, and it wasn’t the one we were attending.

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com •Reports indicate Egypt, Italy, Russia planning military action in Libya •Egypt court declares Hamas to be a terrorist organization •Egypt and Turkey may try to create a ‘Sunni front’ with Saudi Arabia Various unconfirmed reports are emerging indicating that there may be joint international action planned in Libya as early as next week. Egypt is already conducting air strikes against ISIS-linked targets in Derna, close to where Egyptian Coptics were massacred recently,... Al-Jazeera television reports that the Italian navy is getting ready to carry off sophisticated military drills off the coast of Libya as...

Lost in much of the reporting about CPAC is that almost all of the likely presidential candidates—really, all of them, with the exception of Rand Paul—seemed to place themselves at the Reaganite hawkish-internationalist end of the foreign policy spectrum. The much-heralded return of Republican isolationism or anti-interventionism wasn’t much in evidence, except during Rand Paul's half hour on the stage. The other candidates all criticized President Obama for his foreign policy weakness and timidity, and made the case for greater American strength and resolve. Of course, most of the speakers didn't go into great detail, especially on the question of...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu The emerging U.S.-led deal that would allow Iran to enrich uranium at a limited rate, with the restrictions easing over time, poses a “great danger” to the Western world and Israel from a “messianic, apocalyptic” nation, Israel’s defense minister declared Monday. Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon made the comments as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against the wishes of President Obama, prepares for a trip to Washington next week to explain in an address to both houses of Congress why he is against the negotiations. As WND reported, the prime minister’s aides have claimed Israel...

Can President Obama sell an Iran deal at home? If his negotiators strike an agreement next month, we already know that it will be far from ideal: Rather than eradicating Iran’s nuclear-weapons potential, as once was hoped, a pact would seek to control Iran’s activities for some limited number of years. Such a deal might be defensible on the grounds that it is better than any alternative, given that most experts believe a military “solution” would be at best temporary and possibly counterproductive. But making that kind of lesser-evil defense would be challenging in any circumstances. Three conditions will make...

A group of 23 liberal House Democrats urged Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday to delay Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress next month. In the letter spearheaded by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the lawmakers argued that Netanyahu was being used as a "political tool" against President Obama. "As members of Congress who support Israel, we share concern that it appears that you are using a foreign leader as a political tool against the president," they wrote. Netanyahu's March 3 address will be just two weeks before the Israeli elections and...

Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Thursday called on Middle Eastern leaders to stand up to "violent extremism" and stop proxy wars that fuel the rise of terror groups. "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie," he told the final day of a conference on combatting extremism. "And all of us, regardless of our faith, have a responsibility to reject it." Obama challenged Middle Eastern powers to stop actions that he claimed have stoked the rise of Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and others. Fighting between Sunnis and Shia "will only end when...

PARIS -- While surfing the Internet on Valentine's Day, I came across a love story so poignant that I just have to share it with you. I'm taking really hot and heavy -- as in actual fire. I noticed a banner advertisement for an event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April called the "Kingdom Future Energy Summit," complete with a stunning image of what appears to be an ashen finger catching fire as it reaches out to touch a stream of oil. Ouch. It's the kind of image that you might expect neo-hippies to daydream between trips to the recycling...

[snip] Conclusion - The evidence we have assembled and reviewed suggests there is little direct connection between poverty, education and participation in terrorism and politically motivated violence. Indeed, the available evidence indicates that, compared with the relevant population, participants in Hezbollah’s militant wing in the late 1980s and early 1990s were at least as likely to come from economically advantaged families and have a relatively high level of education as they were to come from impoverished families without educational opportunities. We should caution, however, that the evidence we have considered is tentative due to data limitations. In addition, our focus...

Seeking war power authority for three years, President Barack Obama is setting up the prospect that his successor will become the third American president in a row overseeing U.S. military forces grappling with turmoil in the Middle East. Passing on an active military mission in the region would be an unexpected and unwanted legacy for Obama, a president who once appeared poised to fulfill his campaign pledge to end U.S.-led conflicts in the region. […] The president has long said the campaign against the Islamic State militants would be lengthy, suggesting it could extend beyond his presidency. But his authorization...

resident Barack Obama, who has acted unilaterally on everything from making war in Libya to granting work permits to illegal aliens in the United States, now wants a war authorization from Congress. What Congress should make him do first -- but probably will not -- is embrace a realistic foreign policy that makes sense because it makes Americans safer. When Obama wanted to intervene in Libya's civil war in favor of those seeking to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi, he did not seek an authorization from Congress as required by our Constitution. He acted on his own -- backed up by what...

There is no doubt that President Obama’s remarks about Christianity at the National Prayer Breakfast last week were historically accurate. But they were also — let’s face it — glib, facile and patronizing. [snip of brief, gratuitous, misleading snark to burnish and retain his progressive credentials] My objection is that Obama — in drawing parallels between past atrocities perpetrated in the name of Christianity and current ones by terrorists acting in the name of Islam — constructed an all-too-pat narrative that lets everyone off the hook, including himself. The admonition not to “get on our high horse” about jihadist terror...

Dear President Obama, Please know that I am one of those who pray for you on a regular basis. The Scriptures command me to pray for those in leadership. Please also know that any criticism I have regarding your foreign policies are neither personal nor political. I have found some across the aisle from you who have equally questionable views regarding such policies. Although I don’t presume to enter into your mind nor know your motives, I think I understand the process of your thinking regarding radical Islam. Incidentally, I think also some of the President George W. Bush’s administration...

MaxUrderer wrote: You know what would be even BETTER? If we hadn't invaded a Iraq and destabilized the entire regime in the first place. If we had treated 9/11 as what it WAS, a crime, had caught the perpetrators and brought them to justice, and had left the evil but stabilizing dictator in place as we've done in Saudi Arabia. So no, John, Iraq was neither a "victory" nor a "war". It was a mistake. And it will NEVER be Obama's fault. It'll ALWAYS be Bush's fault. To summarize Conservative sentiment regarding Iraq: "That idiot Obama didn't fix our incredible...

Coalition is “adamantly opposed to Obama’s policy…and loath to lend their air strength for its support” The ongoing Syrian conflict, the fall of the Yemeni government, the burning of the Jordanian pilot, and other events make one wonder why even those Arab nations with significant military capabilities tend not to use them against a common enemy. The attacks on ISIS by the Jordanian air force have been a dramatic example of what could be done to eliminate this threat to the entire region if the other military forces would join in a united effort. This raises the question of why...

Last week, President Barack Obama chose to equate Christianity and Islam. In doing so, he suggested people needed to get off their "high horse" because many things had been done in the name of Christianity. He listed slavery and the crusades to name two. I would feel better about listening to the honest exegesis of the American resident on matters of faith if I were convinced he had faith in anything other than himself. He sat in Rev. Jeremiah Wright's church for 20 years. But Rev. Wright is a preacher of black liberation theology, far removed from mainstream Christian discourse....