Western thinking about freedom and democracy is marked by a set of optimistic assertions, which include the following: First, the global advance of freedom and democracy marches ever-onward. Second, economic and political freedoms in a particular nation walk hand in hand, each reinforcing the other. Third, the more a society (particularly its middle class) enjoys …
Continue reading “Stakes Too High To Ignore Democracy’s Retreat”
Fresh off the failure of Almaty, where global negotiators again received nothing for their slavish effort to convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear pursuit, Western diplomats insisted that talks would continue. “There is enough substance for these negotiations to continue,” a Western diplomat told Reuters this week. “I would not expect a breakdown.” Why? Because …
“Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to visit Turkey this week,” Reuters reported yesterday, “as part of a trip to Western Europe and Asia to consult allies on issues including Syria’s civil war.” Turkey? An “ally?” In United States foreign policy-making, perception often lags reality. Presidents George W. Bush and President Barack Obama assumed …
Across our world in which 7.1 billion people dwell, 2.2 billion (or 31 percent) are Christians. They pray in mega-churches across America, in isolated villages in China, and in thousands of places in between. More and more, they pray in fear. That’s because, as the Hudson Institute’s Paul Marshall, Lela Gilbert, and Nina Shea outline …
“Put yourself in their shoes,” President Obama said of the Palestinians, imploring his Israeli audience in Jerusalem to work for peace. “Look at the world through their eyes.” A fine sentiment, smoothly expressed. But if, on his recent swing through Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, Obama hoped to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, he will …
Continue reading “Soothing words in Israel won’t pull peace from Mideast flames”
Another attack on free speech. Another cowed governmental response. Another speaker in hiding. Another incident for the media to ignore. Ah, just another day in the West. The latest outrage comes from the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands, where a doctoral student who interviewed a group of teenaged Muslim-Turkish immigrants on TV about their …
In response to last week’s column, in which I bemoaned U.S. and Western dithering while Bashar al-Assad slaughters his people, I received a friendly but skeptical e-mail from Diana West, the engaging conservative columnist and one of Western civilization’s most ardent defenders. “Hi, Larry,” she wrote. “Hope you’re well. Before we pull another Libya/Egypt – …