In less than five days, GOP candidates will meet in Washington, D.C., to discuss national security and foreign policy. This first-ever presidential debate sponsored by The Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute will be the occasion for candidates to explain their vision for American foreign policy. Some presidential candidates’ views are rather well-known; others’ views are not. In fact, the question has been raised, does the President need to know anything about the subject. Who, under the Constitution, makes foreign policy? The Constitution vests the power to make foreign policy …
Back in August, the Philippine Navy christened its newest flagship, the 115-meter Gregorio del Pilar, a refurbished former U.S. Coast Guard vessel built in 1965. Philippine Navy Chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama stated that this Hamilton-class cutter “symbolizes the revival of the Philippine Navy.” And that revival will soon continue with a second U.S. cutter, exactly like the first and delivered virtually free of charge. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the announcement during an alliance-boosting visit to Manila following the Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Hawaii. Celebrating the …
A recent Gallup poll revealed that 47 percent of Americans—a plurality—support repeal of Obamacare. While the reasons for the law’s unpopularity are limitless, its broken CLASS program and unsuccessful small business tax credit may play a role. A few weeks ago, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it would halt implementation of the CLASS program, the government-run long-term care program created by the health care law, since it was unsustainable and unworkable. This put CLASS on life support, but since it isn’t dead yet, its repeal is crucial. …
The Pakistani media are having a feeding frenzy over an op-ed written more than a month ago in the London-based Financial Times by Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz. In his op-ed, Ijaz asserts that the Zardari government—through a senior Pakistani diplomat he later identified as Pakistani Ambassador to the U.S. Husain Haqqani—asked him to deliver a memo to former U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, requesting his intervention to prevent a military coup in Pakistan in the wake of the Osama bin Laden raid. Ijaz claims …
Last Friday, this author had the opportunity to dine in the company of Vladimir Putin, his senior staff, and the attendees of the annual Valdai Club meeting in Moscow. Despite its location at an upscale riding club, the dinner was delicious, and horse meat was not on the menu. Responding to the Valdai Club report that found that Russia’s “managed democracy” is running out of steam, Putin retorted that Russia’s current political system has not exhausted itself yet, as he is running for president. Asked about the next generation politicians, …
In the midst of the current budget battle, there are a lot of folks—right and left—who assume that defense spending is a luxury that America just can’t afford at the moment. This a view far removed from James Madison’s conviction that “security against foreign danger is…an avowed and essential object of the American Union.” America’s spending priorities are out of whack. Congress’s shortsighted intransigence on the budget will likely mean cutting back the number of delivery days for the U.S. postal service and indiscriminately slashing the defense budget (two items …
First, it was 20,000 jobs the Obama Administration delayed by punting a decision to approve the Keystone XL pipeline, which would bring 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada into the United States. Multiply that number by 10 and you have the amount of jobs the President is putting on hold by delaying a mineral lease sale in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest for oil and gas drilling. This decision kills jobs and denies Americans access to affordable energy. The Washington Examiner reports that Wayne National Forest already has 1,300 …
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Friday said Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s lack of knowledge about the problems plaguing now-bankrupt Solyndra demonstrates poor management skills that preclude him from being an effective Cabinet-level official. “I would look to have somebody else manage” the Department of Energy, McCarthy said on a Friday conference call. “Things were going on that he did not know about,” he added. “That’s not the way you should be managing.” Those comments echo remarks by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s lead investigator. Rep. Cliff Stearns …
Last week, The Heritage Foundation reported on a 15-cent fee the Obama Administration’s Department of Agriculture planned to impose on certain sales of Christmas trees to support a new federal marketing program. Not 24 hours later, following an uproar of opposition, the White House announced it would delay its Christmas tree tax, and now it has made that delay official. Yesterday in the Federal Register, the following notice was posted: Due to recent events, the regulations are stayed in order to provide all interested persons, including the Christmas tree industry …
Where can Congress’ “super committee” find its $1.2-trillion target in savings? The answer is hidden in plain sight. The money could come from Obamacare, to avoid implementing its huge expenses. Repealing the health care law would solve the super committee’s dilemma, yielding more than enough savings to fulfill their mission. Yet Obamacare has been placed “off-limits” for no good reason. As POLITICO noted: “Anyone tracking the super committee has heard the mantra: Everything is on the table. But there’s one big item that doesn’t appear to be on that gigantic …
