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The proliferation problem from hell

July 19, 2017  •  The Washington Times

On the surface, Iran and North Korea could hardly be more different. The former is a Middle Eastern theocracy, its ideology based on a bellicose reading of Islamic scripture. The latter is Asian and atheist, its ideology, Juche, loosely rooted in Stalinism. But scratch the surface, and you'll find significant similarities.

Both have "supreme leaders" whose power it is unsafe to question. Both are egregious violators of fundamental human rights. Both see the United States as their arch enemy. Both pose proliferation problems from hell.

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Celebrating the values of the West is right because they're the best

July 12, 2017  •  The Washington Times

On various occasions and beginning decades before he was elected president, Ronald Reagan warned that "freedom is never more than one generation from extinction." He understood, and he wanted others to understand, that liberty is not an entitlement. It's a rare and precious commodity that "must be fought for."

In Europe last week, President Trump raised this issue again but he broadened it and framed it more pessimistically. "The fundamental question of our time," he said, "is whether the West has the will to survive."

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The next Middle East war

July 6, 2017  •  The Washington Times

Eleven years ago this month, Israel went to war with Hezbollah, Iran's Lebanon-based Shi'a proxy militia. The fighting began when Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli villages and missiles at Israeli armored vehicles patrolling the border. Three Israeli soldiers were killed. Two were kidnapped and taken into Lebanon.

They would be among the more than a thousand people killed during the 34 days that followed. Hundreds of thousands, in both countries, would be displaced.

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The Qatar Ultimatum

June 14, 2017  •  The Washington Times

In the aftermath of the terrorist atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush drew a line in the sand. "Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make," he announced. "Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists." Since then, disappointingly if not surprisingly, more than a few nations have straddled that line, providing support to America and America's enemies alike.

Is that because they sympathize with the goals of the terrorists or because they're afraid of the terrorists, or is there some other explanation? It's not clear. What is: No nation has hedged its bets more egregiously than Qatar.

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The Six-Day War and the 50-year occupation

June 7, 2017  •  The Washington Times

Fifty years ago this week, the young state of Israel faced the threat of extermination — a second Jewish Holocaust in a single century. Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser stated candidly what he and other Arab leaders envisioned. "Our basic aim will be the destruction of Israel," he said.

"High time to destroy the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland," echoed Hafez Assad, Syria's minister of defense, later to become its dictator. Added Iraqi President Abdul Salam Arif: "Our goal will be to wipe Israel off the face of the map."

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