Quick Hit: The President’s Strategy for ISIL Assessed
In 15 minutes of remarks tonight , President Barrack Obama laid out his strategy to confront the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL.) The president’s much awaited strategy can be condensed to this: Train and equip local forces—whether Iraqi or Syrian—to fight ISIL on the ground. Provide additional American advisors to support these local forces. Use American airpower to support forces on the ground—including … Read More
Quick Hits: Faith and Politics; Climate Change; Iranian Nukes
A few quick hits before the weekend and next week’s healthcare conference. Faith and Politics: Demonstrating the principles we discussed at the most recent roundtable lunch, Congressman Paul Ryan took on the social-justice teachings of the Catholic Church this week and revealed that “Cafeteria Catholicism” is a bipartisan practice. Climate Change: New data and analysis reveals that some Antarctic ice sheets are melting from underneath. It’s 2012, could we have … Read More
Energy Geopolitics: Thinking about China’s Defense Spending
Webster’s defines “geopolitics” as: a study of the influence of such factors as geography, economics, and demography on the politics and especially the foreign policy of a state a governmental policy guided by geopolitics a combination of political and geographic factors relating to something (as a state or particular resources) And during the Cold War we talked about geopolitics, or so it seemed, with a lot more frequency than we … Read More
Quick Hit: Shadow War between Israel and Iran not so Shadowy
Over the last several years, scientists associated with Iran’s nuclear program have been killed in a series of attacks. According to NBC News, the United States believes Israel is behind these killings–part of a shadow war to slow or halt Iran’s nuclear program. Just last month, the Washington Post reported: A scientist linked to Iran’s nuclear program was killed in his car by a bomb-wielding assailant on Wednesday [January 11, … Read More
Quick Hit: ‘We the People’ Losing Appeal
I read this story in the New York Times on Monday and found it both fascinating and troubling. “We the People” Loses Appeal with People Around the World” Here’s a brief quote: In 1987, on the Constitution’s bicentennial, Time magazine calculated that “of the 170 countries that exist today, more than 160 have written charters modeled directly or indirectly on the U.S. version.” A quarter-century later, the picture looks very … Read More
Quick Hit: Halftime in America
Forget about the football game last night–I know I’m trying to. The halftime ad from Chrysler with Clint Eastwood was remarkable, though, not simply for it’s length and expense, but for its emotional power. It’s halftime America, and our second half is about to begin. It tapped something basic in the psyche of America: the idea that hard times don’t define us; that together we can do anything; that tomorrow … Read More