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Economy Of Force The recent deaths of 4 US Army Special Forces Soldiers in Niger have prompted questioning, some legitimate and some merely political posturing. Two articles, one in The American Conservative (What Are US forces Doing in Niger Anyway?) and the other in Politico (Niger Attack Fuels New Push for War Vote) ask two very cogent questions: “Why are we there?” and “What is Congress’ role?” The purpose of this article isn’t to focus on the hypocrisy of these questions coming at this time. However, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that this particular mission...

White House Spokesman Josh Earnest repeatedly ducked questions about whether presidential national security adviser Ben Rhodes should testify before a Congressional committee hearing exploring the controversial Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, instead asserting that Rhodes is the one who told the truth about the agreement, whereas multiple Republicans repeatedly issued false statements on the subject. Rhodes has come under fire after the New York Times published a profile piece in which President Obama's 39-year-old "mind meld" confidante on foreign affairs -- an "aspiring novelist" who holds academic degrees in political science, English and creative writing -- boasts of actively manipulating America's...

The president was wary. The secretary of state was persuasive. But the ouster of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi left Libya a failed state and a terrorist haven. By the time Mahmoud Jibril cleared customs at Le Bourget airport and sped into Paris, the American secretary of state had been waiting for hours. But this was not a meeting Hillary Clinton could cancel. Their encounter could decide whether America was again going to war. In the throes of the Arab Spring, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was facing a furious revolt by Libyans determined to end his quixotic 42-year rule. The dictator’s forces were...

This story broke last week, just as millions of Americans were tuning out of the news cycle for Thanksgiving. Given the seriousness of the subject matter, it deserves a re-up. National Review reports: President Obama didn't require Iranian leaders to sign the nuclear deal that his team negotiated with the regime, and the deal is not "legally binding," his administration acknowledged in a letter to Representative Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) obtained by National Review. "The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document," wrote Julia Frifield, the State Department assistant...

As a young Barack Obama once said at the 2004 Democratic convention: There are no “blue states” and “red states,” there are only blue states and states that make “common cause” with anti-American fanatics.The White House should pick a smear and settle on it. Are critics of his terrible nuclear deal warmongering nutcases like the worst elements in Iran or are they treacherous Jews secretly loyal to Israel? “What I said is absolutely true factually. The truth of the matter is, inside of Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds force, hard-liners who...

Secretary of State John Kerry would like to assure Iran that even if it violates the terms of the gratuitous concessions "thrown in as add-ons" to the nuclear deal, the regime won't be in violation of the deal as a whole. Remarkable:Kerry Admits Iran Can Flout Weapons Embargo Without Violating Nuclear Deal Specifically, the arms embargo is not tied to the snapback; it is tied to a separate set of obligations. So they are not in material breach of the nuclear agreement for violating the arms piece of it. Not to worry, Kerry explains, because there are "other sanctions" the US...

The Obama administration estimates that Iranian-supplied bombs killed "hundreds" of American troops in Iraq during the war, and the president himself has explicitly acknowledged that the deal's generous sanctions relief provisions will allow the regime to enhance its world-leading financing of international terrorism. An organization called Veterans Against the Deal has something to say about that: Sgt. Bartlett calls on Senators to reject the Iran deal "I was blown up by an Iranian bomb…that's who we're making a deal with. Every politician who's involved in this will be held accountable…A vote for this deal means more money for Iranian terrorism. What do...

They're blowing past deadlines with zero consequences and making excuses for Iran's noncompliance with the terms of various existing interim agreements, so what's the point of erecting meaningless deadlines at all? It's becoming increasingly clear that the Obama administration will secure a deal with Iran -- no matter how watered down its requirements may be and regardless of how long the process takes. It's come to this: International powers negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran failed to meet another deadline on Tuesday, the second missed target in a week, raising the prospect of an open-ended diplomatic process over an issue on which President Barack Obama...

Top White House officials have reportedly been holding private meetings with lawmakers this week to boost support for the president’s foreign policy strategy, although the outreach effort appears to have left some lawmakers confused and upset. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) described a meeting with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and National Security Adviser Susan Rice earlier this week as “one of the most bizarre I've attended on Foreign Relations on foreign policy in our country.” “I know several of us were involved in a very bizarre discussion last night. This continues a very bizarre discussion,” Corker added, according...

“Today marks a very important next step, shifting from saying the right things to doing the right things, putting into action the steps that are necessary not only to protect women and children but to find ways of utilizing women as makers and keepers of peace,” says Hillary Rodham Clinton, in reference to the newly launched National Action Plan Academy........SMART POWER “This is what we call Smart Power, using every possible tool…leaving no one on the sidelines, showing respect even for one’s enemies, trying to understand, and insofar as is psychologically possible, empathize with their perspective and point of view,...

The Obama administration continues to push for a deal with the Iranian regime, which has been pursuing an illegal nuclear program for years and is the world's leading sponsor of terrorism. Sen. Harry Reid, at the behest of the White House, has blocked any vote on the broadly-supported, bipartisan Menendez-Kirk sanctions bill, the intention of which is to strengthen Obama's hand at the negotiating table. In spite of White House claims of tangible progress when the initial agreement was signed, senior Iranian officials have disputed Washington's interpretation of key verbiage (the text of the agreement remains shrouded in secrecy). Tehran's...

Serendipitous events do not a strategy make. Watching events surrounding Syria unfold the last few weeks, and the Obama administration and media's cheers of victory these last few days, is proof that our current leadership does not understand the difference between happenstance and strategy. A quick review of events: the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government on civilians; tough talk by President Barack Obama; an administration push for a congressional vote for use of force; Secretary of State John Kerry's off-the-cuff remark regarding Syria giving weapons up to an international group; Russian President Vladimir Putin leveraging the remark...

Welcome back from Labor Day weekend. From the first Morning Jolt of the week:Democrats Suddenly Realize What They Miscalculated About the World: EverythingAs we await Congress’ decision on authorizing the use of U.S. military force in Syria, Democrats are suddenly realizing that their foreign policy brain-trust completely misjudged the world. Being nicer to countries like Russia will not make them nicer to you. The United Nations is not an effective tool for resolving crises. Some foreign leaders are beyond persuasion and diplomacy. There is no “international community” ready to work together to solve problems, and there probably never will be....

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unannounced trip to Pakistan to meet with President Asif Ali Zardari and other senior officials on Friday, a move U.S. officials say was designed to gauge the state of the uneasy alliance between the two nations. As the New York Times puts it: “It did not appear to go well.” Press opportunities were few and far between during Clinton’s short trip to Islamabad, but when reporters did get a look at the interaction between Clinton and Zardari there was plenty of awkwardness and few smiles.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney barely survived the briefing today. CBS' Chip Reid was clearly fed up watching the administration do nothing about Libyan atrocities while claiming they were responding with "unprecedented" speed. Today the clock ran out on the White House and their dithering was exposed. Q On no-fly zone, what exactly is the U.S. -- the administration's position before the Security Council? MR. CARNEY: Our position, Chip, remains that we are evaluating a number of options, military options, including -- Q But a decision has to be made now. MR. CARNEY: -- including a no-fly zone. We...

Mohamed ElBaradei caps his contentious and ultimately failed 12-year stint as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today, having spent many years enabling Iran's nuclear bids only to condemn them in his final days in office. Mr. ElBaradei combined his rebuke of Iran with his familiar calls for more negotiation, but we'll take his belated realism about Iran as his tacit admission that Dick Cheney and John Bolton have been right all along. Let's hope the education of the Obama Administration doesn't take as long. As if to underscore the point, yesterday the Iranian government ordered up 10 additional...

Note: The following text is a quote: YOU ARE IN: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton > What the Secretary Has Been Saying > 2009 Secretary Clinton's Remarks > Remarks by Secretary Clinton: July 2009 Foreign Policy Address at the Council on Foreign Relations Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC July 15, 2009 7/15/09 - Question and Answer Session Thank you very much, Richard, and I am delighted to be here in these new headquarters. I have been often to, I guess, the mother ship in New York City, but it’s good to have an outpost of the...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Announces-Key-State-Department-Appointments/ THE BRIEFING ROOM THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ___________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 6, 2009 President Obama Announces Key State Department Appointments WASHINGTON – Today, President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key State Department posts: Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary for International Organizations; Phil Gordon, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs; and Melanne Verveer, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. President Obama said, "Each of these individuals brings a deep knowledge and expertise in their field, along with a commitment to strengthen American diplomacy to...