King Salman of Saudi Arabia has pulled off in Mecca what many had thought unlikely — getting 20 or so disparate Arab nations to unite in a common position against Iran. And while this achievement came without bellicose threats or new red lines, it is an important milepost on a road that may yet lead […]
The greatest threat facing Israel isn’t Iran, Hamas or Hezbollah: It’s Netanyahu’s desperation
By: Chemi Shalev For Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump is a gift that keeps on giving. The U.S. president has abandoned the Iran nuclear deal, moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, pitched in during the recent election campaign and is about to present a Bantustan-style peace deal that could allow Israel to annex large chunks of […]
Inside Theresa May’s Great British Failure
LONDON — Theresa May knew the futility of her last stand, but was determined to make it anyway. She needed it. The prime minister and her closest aides and officials had gathered in her office in Number 10 Downing Street to discuss their next steps following the collapse of cross-party talks with Labour. It was May […]
Trump struggles with a growing problem on the border
Tensions are rising, fingers are pointing and the search for solutions is becoming increasingly fraught. Overwhelmed by an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border that is taxing the immigration system, President Donald Trump is grasping for something — anything — to stem the tide. Trump, who campaigned on a promise to secure the border, […]
Why America needs to see the Mueller report, right now
For nearly two years, the nation has been bitterly divided by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath. To President Trump, the Mueller investigation has been the “single greatest witch hunt in American political history” — a “disgrace” and “scandal” that is nothing short of “corrupt,” […]
My Venezuela nightmare: A 30-day hunt for food in a starving land
The diary of a desperate mother trying to put food on the kitchen table. By Fabiola Zerpa | July 18, 2016 Editor’s note: The looting, the blackouts, the mob lynchings, the hospitals with no supplies. Venezuela’s collapse into disarray is of a scale unseen in the Western Hemisphere in decades. In an effort to illustrate […]
Venezuela Isn’t Just a Failed State. It’s a Failure of the Left
By Tyler Cowen As Venezuela careens toward a further economic and political collapse, the blame game is heating up. In the U.S., Republicans are labeling the country “socialist,” using Venezuelan problems as a weapon against more left-leaning Democrats. Commentators on the left, in contrast, are arguing that Venezuela is more of a failed petro-state with bad […]
An ‘emergency’ power grab would only add to Trump’s problems
By Jennifer Rubin. Opinion writer President Trump cannot keep digging. He insisted on a wall the country didn’t want in a way the country objected to (by shutdown) when he could not control Congress. It didn’t take a political genius to predict Trump was going to lose. For the first time in his presidency, however, moving […]
President Trump is entering his terrible twos
By Dana Milbank He shuts down the government, maybe for “years.” He wants a wall that is “transparent,” then concrete, then slatted, then steel. One moment he’s leaving Syria, the next he isn’t. He’s watching too much TV and yelling at everyone. This is all to be expected. President Trump is entering his terrible twos. […]
How a president shapes the public character
By : Mitt Romney The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December. The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a […]