Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has called for meetings between the Israeli leaders and “Palestinian factions” as well as a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict. According to the CNN article, the Egyptian President “said the discussions would focus on avoiding an escalation of the violence, securing borders between Israel and Gaza”. The U.S. has supported Israel’s right to defend itself and respond to the terrorist threat of Hamas. It is important to remember that a cease-fire without being lasting and stable is catering to Hamas’ pledge to destroy Israel. Heritage Foundation’s …
Yesterday at The Huffington Post, retired Lt. Gen. Robert Gard Jr. attacked The Heritage Foundation’s (unreleased) documentary “33 Minutes,” due out in February 2009. After viewing the seven minute trailer, Gard fired off a series of criticisms, each addressed below. Surely, it would have been prudent to wait until viewing the entire documentary, but nonetheless: Criticism No. 1: Missile defense will not protect against a terrorist with a nuclear weapon. The author highlights a quote from the trailer by Ambassador Robert Joseph, former Under Secretary of State for Arms Control …
Recent reports indicate Iran could have a nuclear bomb by 2015, if not earlier. What has been largely ignored is Iran’s ability to acquire an equally destructive device, an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapon. Clifford D. May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and I recently penned an article describing how Iran can achieve its destructive ends — “a world without America.” Having already conducted tests from sea-based platforms, detonating warheads at the highest point of the missile trajectory, Iran may exploring a workable research program to deliver …
Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, brokered a deal this week between Russia and Georgia, and the Russians are declaring victory. Sarkozy, as the current EU President, negotiated the deal with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and later got it approved by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. In the deal, Georgia pledged “not to use force against its two breakaway republics – a key Russian demand,” in return Russia would begin removing its troops from a safety zone in Georgian territory currently occupied by the Russian military. That Russia is declaring victory should …
A September 10 article in the WSJ hits all the marks on missile defense. In typical Russian fashion, the Kremlin promised their response to a U.S. missile shield in Poland would go “beyond” diplomacy, even though the system is clearly ineffective against an onslaught of Russian ICBM’s. Until recently, this was tired rhetoric. On August 28, Forbes reported that the Russians tested the latest version of the Topol RS-12M ICBM, modified to zig and zag its way past missile interceptor systems. On September 10, the AP reported that Russia may …
Republicans cheered Presidential hopeful John McCain following his closing remarks at their convention last week in St. Paul, Minnesota, particularly when he said, “Let me just offer an advance warning to the old, big spending, do nothing, me first, country second crowd: Change is coming.” Throughout his speech he talked about how Washington had shown itself to be unreliable in delivering on promises that would keep America strong. So he challenged all Americans to fight with him in a new age of American leadership. This distinguished military veteran might find the …
Supporters of “comprehensive” immigration reform often purport the zero sum argument that there must be permanent legalization or the forced deportation of all 12 million illegal immigrants. However, a new pilot program by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is testing another option. The pilot of Operation Scheduled Departure allows non-criminal fugitive illegal immigrants, in other words those illegal immigrants who have received deportation orders but have not complied and have no criminal records, to turn themselves in at ICE offices in Charlotte, Chicago, Santa Ana, Phoenix and San Diego. …
The United States is ready for the next Hurricane Katrina according to Admiral Thad Allen, the former director of the FEMA response effort in New Orleans. In an article put out by Bloomberg, Allen was quoted saying “there is nothing right now that inhibits an effective response.” However others seem to disagree. Craig Fugate, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, and Heritage’s Dr. James Carafano see that more still needs to be done. Policies and procedures still need to be reassessed and improved, plus Congressional meddling and their practices …
Seven years removed from the attacks of September 11, 2001, what are the key next steps for homeland security? In a testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight, I provided several answers to that question; my first answer, consolidation of congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. At a forum hosted by the Heritage foundation on the subject, Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), ranking member of the same subcommittee, stated that “Congress has protected its prerogatives and privileges at the expense of oversight.” …
What do the weapons of the war of ideas look like? They aren’t bullets, missiles, or bombs. According to James Glassman, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, they are instead a group of programs designed to “push back against violent extremist ideology.” He claims these “may be the most important aspect of the war on terror.” But how do they work? First, he aims to encourage moderate Muslims to speak out against extremism. Second, and likely based off of his experience overseeing U.S. broadcasting, he plans on creating educational …
