Column Archive

The holiday season has now ended, but not without leaving behind a trail of devastation and a rising sense of anguish among Christian communities in the Middle East. A series of deadly assaults and ominous threats — most dramatically the New Year’s church massacre in Alexandria, Egypt, and a threat from al-Qaida in Iraq to “open the doors of destruction and rivers of blood” upon Christians — have raised fears that Christianity may not survive in the region of its birth. The depth of the anxiety comes through in the words of Lebanon’s former-President Amin Gemayel, who declared, “What is […]

On Monday, USA Today reported that the United States Air Force was increasing the size of its Afghanistan contingent in order to keep up with the dramatic expansion in the rate of airstrikes since Gen. David Petraeus took over command of the war effort. To some, the fact that Petraeus — the American military figure most associated with FM 3-24 (.pdf), also known as the counterinsurgency (COIN) manual — is responsible for increasing the use of airpower in Aghanistan represents a paradox. FM 3-24 takes a notably dim view of airstrikes, suggesting that they “can cause collateral damage that turns […]

One global issue that looks to become more prominent in 2011 is that of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform. Several world leaders — including Presidents Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, and Nicolas Sarkozy — have recently called for adding new members to the council, while others want to overhaul its structure and procedures. But the reformers must overcome a potential obstacle: The council just may be incorrigible by design. Most U.N. reform debates focus on how to change the Security Council to make it more representative and democratic. With respect to the former issue, the primary concern has been that, […]

To kick off 2011, I thought I’d put together my top-10 international affairs wish list for the year, going from left to right on my wall map. But like Spinal Tap, only better, my list goes to 12: 1) Even more U.S. states pass decriminalization initiatives or medical marijuana laws. Yes, California’s infamous Prop 19 to legalize pot was narrowly defeated, 54 percent to 46 percent, but a majority of U.S. states are either considering such laws or already have them in place. In the four years since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug lords, 30,000 “soldiers” […]