"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States." With that phrase, Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution of the United States ensures civilian control over--and accountability for--the American military. While the power to declare war rests with Congress, responsibility for America's global vision, its foreign policy […]

The end is nigh for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. To be sure, ISIS affiliates in Libya, Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere will remain dangerous. And its fighters and sympathizers will continue to launch terror attacks in Europe and the United States for years to come. But the writing is on the wall for […]

While Americans have been focused on the growing crisis surrounding the Trump administration's tangled web of ties to Russia, the good news coming from Iraq has gone largely unnoticed. After successfully liberating eastern Mosul from ISIS fighters, Iraqi forces have launched their final offensive to retake the western of the city from the Islamic State. […]

As more details surfaced this week about the extent of Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election, its winner Donald Trump shocked intelligence leaders from both parties with his announcement that he only receives briefings once a week. "I'm, like, a smart person," Trump declared last Sunday, "I don't have to be told the same […]

And now for some friendly advice for my Republican friends. If you want to criticize President Obama on anything having to do with Iran, don't waste your energy seething about "Iran" and "ransom" and "hostages" and what Ronald Reagan would do. It won't end well for you. After all, it wasn't Reagan's inauguration that secured […]

Few things stir the passions of most Americans more than the struggle of oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a tyrant, a dictator, an authoritarian government, or a totalitarian regime. And to be sure, those feelings are greatly amplified when the uprising represents a potential blow to a rival whose rulers constitute a clear […]

President Obama's forceful statements in support of the UK remaining in the European Union made waves on both sides of the Atlantic. Brexit leader and London Mayor Boris Johnson protested Obama's "hypocrisy" on an issue of UK sovereignty, attributing Obama's firm position to the "part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire." But here in […]

In an understandably rare interview with Fox News on Sunday, Barack Obama spoke bluntly about the "worst mistake" of his presidency. That error, as he had also recently explained to the BBC and The Atlantic, was the unraveling of Libya following the fall of Muammar Qaddafi: "Probably failing to plan for the day after what […]

So the debasement of the Party of Lincoln has come to this. While short-fingered Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump sought to reassure Americans by declaring "I guarantee there's no problem" with his schlong, his nearest GOP rival Ted Cruz (R-TX) nevertheless told all who would listen that "I have no desire to copulate with him." […]

This week, Barack Obama became the first the U.S. president visit Cuba in 88 years. To be sure, his trip will mark a new milestone in the rapidly changing relationship between the two old Cold War foes. In the 15 months since the nations restored diplomatic ties, embassies have opened in Washington and Havana. Commercial […]