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  • Commentary posted May 12, 2013 by James Jay Carafano, Ph.D. China's Not Working in Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

    They pitched their tents in orderly, military fashion. All was quiet on the windswept plain, except for the sharp bark of guard dogs. But the sign tacked in front of the tents sent tremors through capitals around the world. It read, simply: "You are on Chinese Side." That changed last week. Chinese troops withdrew from their advanced positions on the India-China border,…

  • Commentary posted April 30, 2013 by Bruce Klingner For South Korea, No Respect, No Kaesong

    It's time for South Korea to face facts: The Kaesong experiment has failed. The ideologically motivated joint business venture with North Korea known as the Kaesong industrial complex is not economically viable, nor has it achieved any of its political objectives. To protest recent sanctions against it, the North pulled its workers out this month and locked out workers…

  • Commentary posted April 29, 2013 by Lisa Curtis Pakistan's Troubled Election

    With violence against the mainstream political parties escalating, initial Pakistani excitement about the upcoming national elections is beginning to give way to fear that bombs, not ballots, will have the greatest impact on the outcome. Over the last several weeks, Pakistani observers have touted the fact that for the first time in the country’s history, a…

  • Commentary posted April 26, 2013 by Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D. Barack Obama's Syrian 'Red Line' Comes Back to Trip Him

    The White House now believes Syrian strongman Bashar Assad has used the poison gas sarin against his own people. Last August, President Barack Obama called the use of chemical weapons a "red line." He now faces a hard choice: Admit his red line was phony or intervene in a conflict he has sought to avoid. The Syrian crisis is not just about sarin. Assad has killed more…

  • Commentary posted April 24, 2013 by Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D. After Boston, Regard Vladimir Putin's Sympathy with Distrust

    Russian strongman Vladimir Putin expressed his sympathy for the victims of the Boston bombings last week. But make no mistake: Putin sees the bombings as an opportunity to rebuild relations with the United States on his terms. His crocodile tears shouldn't delude us into chasing a second "reset" in relations with Russia. After all, the first reset was one of the Obama…

  • Commentary posted April 21, 2013 by Brett D. Schaefer Why So Many New UN Bureaucrats?

    Under the tenure of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the number of the highest-ranking U.N. officials has increased by an average of 35 percent (a 47 percent increase in New York and a 27 percent increase elsewhere). This expansion of top-level officials is troubling for a number of reasons, including lack of transparency in the nominating process,…

  • Commentary posted April 16, 2013 by Bruce Klingner Kerry's Soft Touch on North Korea

    When John Kerry was selected as U.S. Secretary of State, Korea watchers wondered which policy path he'd follow. Would he continue his predecessor Hillary Clinton's role as the backbone of the Obama administration, pushing for a firm policy toward the Kim regime? Or would he maintain his long-held advocacy for negotiations, even if it meant lowering the bar of Pyongyang's…

  • Commentary posted April 16, 2013 by Theodore R. Bromund, Ph.D. Margaret Thatcher's Lesson: To Triumph, Do Your Homework

    Margaret Thatcher, Britain's greatest prime minister since Winston Churchill, will be laid to rest Wednesday. In life, Thatcher never rested. American politicians, who have fallen into a bad habit of legislating for the camera, need to learn her habit of sweating the details instead. Thatcher believed that, in the end, you could only succeed by preparing and thinking. As…

  • Commentary posted April 11, 2013 by Mike Gonzalez We Need a 'Dennis Rodman Rule' for Celebrities Who Travel to Rogue Nations

    The quiet dignity of Rosa Maria Paya was unmistakable Tuesday as she asked the international community to pressure Cuba’s government into allowing a plebiscite on democracy and for an investigation into the murder of her father, dissident leader Oswaldo Paya. Her poise also offered a sharp contrast to the spectacle unfolding in her country with a visit there by celebrity…

  • Commentary posted April 10, 2013 by Peter Brookes Bluster & Blackmail

    As Secretary of State John Kerry wings his way to Asia on his first trip there as our top diplomat, now is a good time to put North Korea’s dangerous game of belligerence, brinkmanship and blackmail into some much-needed perspective. Pyongyang has been threatening everything from another Korean War to a nuclear strike on US cities. It’s not likely going to do anything so…

  • Commentary posted April 10, 2013 by Peter Brookes Despite Sequester, State Department Ups Support for the UN

    As Secretary of State John Kerry wings his way to Asia on his first trip there as our top diplomat, now is a good time to put North Korea’s dangerous game of belligerence, brinkmanship and blackmail into some much-needed perspective. Pyongyang has been threatening everything from another Korean War to a nuclear strike on US cities. It’s not likely going to do anything so…

  • Commentary posted April 9, 2013 by Luke Coffey Thatcher's Legacy Will Outlive Us All

    Margaret Thatcher’s career made one thing clear: she loved America and what it stands for. Her commitment to the principles embraced by the founding fathers made her a transformative prime minister for Britain and an inspirational leader for freedom-loving peoples throughout the world. Before Thatcher came to power in 1979, Britain was widely dismissed as the “sick man…

  • Commentary on April 9, 2013 Thatcher Put 'Great' in Great Britain

    When Margaret Thatcher came to power the United Kingdom was in the last chance saloon. Labor markets were highly unionized; the commanding heights of the economy were dominated by loss-making behemoths; marginal tax rates were eye-wateringly high; and the rich, famous and talented were fleeing overseas. Either the U.K. fixed it then or headed ever deeper into economic and…

  • Commentary posted April 9, 2013 by Peter Brookes Korea's Kim Edges to Delusions of Grandeur

    In its latest effort to ratchet up tensions on the Korean Peninsula, North Korea may go ballistic — literally — as soon as tomorrow, possibly launching an intermediate-range “Musudan” missile from its east coast, according to press reports. The big question is: at who or what? The “good” news is that the range of the mobile Musudan missile isn’t well-suited for…

  • Commentary posted April 9, 2013 by Nile Gardiner, Ph.D. The Legacy of Margaret Thatcher

    With the passing of Margaret Thatcher, we’ve lost not only one of conservatism’s heroes. We’ve lost one of the greatest figures of modern times, a woman who battled incredible odds to become prime minister, and then turned her country around after decades of decline. I had the honor of working for Lady Thatcher in her private office from 2000 to 2002. Like anyone who has…