Section: The Daily Signal (USA)
Russia and Iran Are Winning a War of Images in Syria
The leaders of Russia and Iran both have ramped up their propaganda machines to project images of surging regional influence within Syria. This aggressive news management by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not so incidentally, coincides with the waning of U.S. power and influence. Since the start of the...
Cartoon: Obama’s Politcally Motivated Veto
Justin Johnson wrote earlier this week on President Obama’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act: Instead of dealing with the bill on its merits, Obama is using the defense bill for political leverage. This is the wrong way to handle our national security. Many Americans rightfully find Washington’s way of doing things...
Why Obama Should Not Be Using Our Military for Political Leverage
President Obama will veto the defense authorization bill today with a photo-op, and by doing so will highlight Washington at its worst. Instead of dealing with the bill on its merits, Obama is using the defense bill for political leverage. This is the wrong way to handle our national security. Many Americans rightfully find Washington’s way...
Obama’s ‘Best’ Foreign Policy Achievement
The president now plans to continue a U.S. ground force presence in Afghanistan to help hold off the Taliban until he leaves office. This is an uncommon turnaround for a president who hasn’t changed his mind on foreign policy since drawing his (much-ballyhooed and promptly ignored) “red line” in Syria. So what does this rare shift say about...
Obama’s Accomplishments as Commander-in-Chief Are Pretty Meager
When serious military historians ponder Barack Obama’s record as commander-in-chief, there’s little likelihood of heated debate. Let’s just say they’re not likely to award him a spot in the pantheon of military masterminds. In assessing the president’s legacy, historians will have plenty of legitimate topics to...
Putin Begins Propaganda Blitz to Sell his Syrian Bombing Campaign
The Russian government has launched an all-out media campaign to sell its involvement in Syria to the Russian people. On all official television channels (which are pretty much the only ones in Russia that count) viewers have been subjected to a non-stop barrage of the Russian bombing campaign over the past two weeks. Bombers are seen flying...
It’s (Past) Time to Withdraw from the New START Treaty
Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department released the latest numbers on U.S. and Russian strategic forces as part of the data exchange required by the New Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Treaty (New START). The New START Treaty, signed by the U.S. and Russia in April 2010, has utterly failed to accomplish anything in the way of arms control...
A CIA-Trained Tibetan Freedom Fighter’s Undying Hope for Freedom
PANGONG LAKE, India—At dawn, the old man stood outside his home on the Indian side of Pangong Lake, thumbing his prayer beads and chanting, “Om mani padme hum.” The sun was rising from behind a wall of Himalayan peaks on the opposite shore, which was Tibet. The old man’s face, which had been darkly tanned by a lifetime in the high-altitude...
Because of Defense Spending Cuts, Navy Won’t Have Aircraft Carrier in Middle East Anymore
Is the world becoming safer or more dangerous? Few people would select the first option. It doesn’t take Russia launching air strikes in Syria (to cite only one recent example) for most to admit that tensions are rising. So why in the world are we cutting defense spending? And not by small amounts. The U.S. military—which is smaller today...
Putin Is Not a Child. Obama Should Stop Treating Him Like One.
In last Friday’s press conference, President Obama called Vladimir Putin’s incursion in Syria “an act of weakness.” It’s his pat answer when Putin misbehaves. The White House likes to portray the Kremlin as a place filled with petulant children who don’t understand what’s in their own best interest and will one day...
