Clifford D. May

Border security necessary to head off disputes

Al Qaeda does not value diversity and it's not an equal opportunity employer. The same can be said of the Islamic State. And when the rulers of the Islamic Republic of Iran want to commit an act of terrorism -- the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, to take just one example -- they are likely to give the assignment to members of Hezbollah, a radical Islamic group of the Shia persuasion. They are highly unlikely to recruit Unitarians, Mormons or Baha'i.

February 7, 2017

Putting a price tag on the United Nations

This may come as a shock: It's possible, not likely but possible, that a committee of officials from the Defense, State and Justice Departments, as well as the National Security Council, will conduct a review of the disproportionate funding the United States provides to the United Nations and, hold onto your hats, come to the conclusion that American taxpayers should spend less on an organization that is inefficient, corrupt and inimical to American interests.

January 31, 2017

Ending Islamic terrorism will require a long war

In an inaugural address that was more purposeful than poetic, President Trump last Friday vowed to "unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth." I hope we can agree, across party and ideological lines, that those are worthwhile objectives.

January 24, 2017

Defining violent extremism down

Death, where is thy sting? For Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, it certainly didn't come from the mainstream media.

January 17, 2017

Cyberwarfare a serious concern

Russia's hacking of the Democratic National Committee was mischievous. Did it change the outcome of the 2016 elections? No evidence suggests that and the intelligence community isn't claiming that.

January 10, 2017

Trump’s first 100 days

It's apparent that Donald Trump was -- to employ a neologism coined by President George W. Bush 16 years ago -- misunderestimated. But those who gave odds that he couldn't transform from a successful businessman into a successful politician are now betting he can't transform from a successful politician into a successful statesman.

January 3, 2017

Obama throwing Israel to the U.N.’s wolves

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is, as its name suggests, an organization committed to jihad — against Israel most urgently, though not exclusively. So when the U.N. Security Council on Friday passed a resolution condemning Israel, PIJ spokesman Dawood Shihab was pleased. He called it a "victory." He wasn't wrong.

December 27, 2016

Syria horrors seemingly unending

Over the last five years, Syria has been descending into a hell on Earth. Over the last four months, the lowest depths of the inferno have been on display in Aleppo, an ancient city, once among the most diverse and dynamic in the Middle East. On Friday, in the final press conference of his presidency, Barack Obama addressed this still-unfolding humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.

December 20, 2016

How Obama and Iran are like Eisenhower Egypt

The Islamic Republic of Iran is, according to no less an authority than the U.S. government, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, suicide-bombed U.S. Marines in Beirut in 1983. Iranian-backed Shia militias killed hundreds of American troops in Iraq more recently.

December 13, 2016

Mahmoud Abbas, no champion of democracy for Palestinians

One man, one vote, one time: In 2005, Mahmoud Abbas was elected to a four-year term as president of the Palestinian Authority. He hasn't bothered to run for re-election since.

December 6, 2016

Donald Trump’s top priorities should be prosperity, security, freedom

Slowly and perhaps even surely, Donald Trump is pulling together a team he believes can help him achieve his goals. Which are what exactly?

November 29, 2016

Constitution upholds states’ rights

The People's Democratic Republic of Oregon. That has a kind of ring to it, don't you think? The reason this phrase has crystalized in my mind: Just after it was confirmed that Donald Trump had defeated Hillary Clinton, a petition was submitted for a ballot initiative to have Oregon secede from these United States.

November 22, 2016

Donald Trump’s victories pale in comparison to challenges ahead

First and foremost: Nothing is more pivotal to democratic governance then holding free and fair elections that lead to a peaceful transference of power. Over the past week, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all demonstrated that they get that. This is an achievement that should not be taken for granted -- an achievement that remains out of reach in too many of the world's nations.

November 15, 2016

The Islamist war against history

"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past." This, as you may recall, was the slogan of the totalitarian state imagined by George Orwell in 1984, his classic novel.

November 8, 2016

The ideals of 1776

Andrew Roberts, one of the world's great historians, took America to task last week. Let me rephrase that: He took Americans to task for what they -- or rather we -- are doing to these United States during an election season that often seems like a satirical novel, albeit one that would have benefited from more rigorous editing.

November 1, 2016

The Battle of Mosul

Ayman al-Zawahiri was correct. Believed to be ensconced in the tribal lands of Pakistan, the leader of what's sometimes called al Qaeda Central has dedicated his life to a jihad that he hopes and prays will lead to the founding of a new and mighty Islamic empire. But he understands the value of strategic patience.

October 25, 2016

A final stab at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict

You're probably familiar with the old story about the inebriated guy looking for his wallet at night under a streetlight -- not because that's where he dropped it but because what would be the point of poking around in the dark? This, in essence, has been the American approach to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for years.

October 18, 2016

The problem with processed peace

When peace-loving people sit down together in a spirit of compromise they can find ways to resolve their conflicts. Does it follow that negotiations with those who don't care a fig about peace and reject compromise also lead to good results?

October 11, 2016

Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act a strategic mistake in counterterrorism

For almost eight years, I've waited for Congress to stand up to President Obama, to demonstrate that the legislative branch is still -- as the Founders envisioned -- coequal to the executive branch, that senators and representatives are more than a commentariat, a Greek chorus appearing on the cable TV stage.

October 4, 2016

Who decides which immigrants, how many can come to U.S.

Millions of people want to come to America. Actually, it's tens of millions or perhaps hundreds of millions. Some Americans believe our borders should be open -- that everyone has a "right" to live in the United States. That seems to me both mistaken and impractical.

September 27, 2016