How did the European left rationalize communism’s crimes and transform itself into a viable political force after the fall of the Soviet Union? It’s all explained in “Last Exit to Utopia: The Survival of Socialism in a Post-Soviet Era.” First published in 2000, the book by the late French intellectual Jean-Francois Revel is only now available in English. But given Revel’s insights into today’s leftist movements, it couldn’t be more timely. The old left’s attempt to “excommunicate” modernity, as Revel describes it, is as alive today as it ever was. …
President Obama has finally made a decision on Afghanistan, which he will communicate to an anxious nation tomorrow night. The White House announcement no doubt has already fueled many kitchen-table conversations during this Thanksgiving weekend, maybe even heated debates. For the sake of our national security, let’s hope most families have concluded that abandoning Afghanistan without achieving our aims is not an option. Some will still waver of course, which is why the president must use his bully pulpit to explain why it is in the vital interests of the …
You know something is amiss when the French take a harder line on national security than the United States. At the United Nations last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy chided President Obama for his “dream” of ridding the world of nuclear weapons, reminding him that “we live in a real world, not a virtual world.” Ouch. The French like to sting American presidents, but this is different. It’s not the normal Gallic jab at America for being a “hyper power,” but a French leader reminding an American president of his …
NATO chief, Anders Rasmussen, said yesterday that NATO should have closer ties with Russia and that Moscow has “legitimate security concerns.” Which country does not have security concerns? But what does Rasmussen mean by “legitimate?” Does he mean when Russia announces, as it did yesterday, that it would seize any Georgian ship it finds in the territorial waters of Abkhazia, the Moscow-backed rebel region of Georgia? Or maybe he means when Russia occupied South Ossetia, essentially annexing parts of Georgian territory illegally? No one except for such radicals as Venezuela, …
President Obama’s trip to Europe has been revealing. Many people had high hopes that Obama may turn out to be a closet moderate. After all, his position on Afghanistan wasn’t all that bad, some said. Unfortunately, the picture is now clearer; his statements and actions in Europe show just how unrealistic those hopes were. Consider what Obama did in Europe: 1. The day after North Korea launched a missile that someday may be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon against the United States, who did he put in the nuclear …
