Free Republic

You know the technique. In police work, it's called good cop, bad cop. A couple of detectives team up to work on a suspect. The good cop wants to be our suspect's friend, offering all kinds of inducements if he'll do as the cops say -- like provide information or just straighten out his act in general. If he'll do that, his friend the good cop assures him, he'll get lenient treatment, maybe even a reward. And won't be left to the less than tender mercies of the bad cop. And there's no telling what the bad cop will do...

TAMARINDO, COSTA RICA – I’m not about to pretend that spending a few days in this rather funky little surfing village on the Pacific has given me great insights into Latin America’s current political, economic and social reality. On the other hand, if one keeps an open mind -- and a not excessively open mouth -- one generally learns something. Based on the evidence I’ve been able to gather, Costa Ricans – or Ticans as they refer to themselves – deserve the reputation they enjoy as friendly, good-natured and peaceable. The national slogan here is pura vida, literally "pure life,"...

Mao Zedong said of the United States, “In appearance it is very powerful, but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of; it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe that is nothing but a paper tiger.” Osama bin Laden said, “We have religion, we have Islam. The American soldier may have the best weapons in the world, but on the inside, he is spiritually empty – a paper tiger.” Both were wrong. Mao found out by being held in check, and bin Laden...

When George Mallory was asked in 1924 why he wanted to climb Mount Everest, he snapped, “Because it is there.” Fourteen years later, Adolf Hitler might well have given the same answer if asked why he wanted to annex the Sudetenland. And nearly a century later, Vladimir Putin is swallowing up Crimea for the same reason: Because it is there for taking. Putin knows when it comes to invading and annexing Crimea, no one is going to stop him. Consider the three candidates you might think at first glance would stand in Vladimir Putin’s path. First, there’s Ukraine. But its...

It happens after every war. America disarms. And so invites the next attack, and next war. The same haphazard pattern is emerging now -- even before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are over, much as this administration pretends they are in order to cut the defense budget. On both those fronts, the enemy is rushing to fill the vacuum left by the American withdrawal. This country's retreat has allowed al-Qaida, its branches and assorted allies and successors, whether the Taliban in Afghanistan or freelance terrorists in Iraq, to advance. At this rate, it may be only a matter of...