 WSJ Book Review by George Melloan, "Who Needs the FED?" 
 Orde Kittrie writes: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 20 that nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian government funds must be turned over to injured survivors and families of Americans killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks for which Iran was found liable by U.S. courts. This is an important, but only partial, step towards compensating American victims of Iranian terrorism. – Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Emily Landau writes: Iran’s demonstrated ability to squeeze concessions on the basis of its false narrative—not only with a straight face, but without being challenged—is a wake-up call. If America finally calls Iran’s bluff and begin to push back, threats of further sanctions should go hand-in-hand with exposing Iran’s rhetorical tactics for what they are: a war of words that require the United States to fight back. – The National Interest
Ben Rhodes, one of President Obama’s top national security advisers, was forced to respond to allegations of the administration’s deception of the American public on the Iran nuclear deal. – Washington Free Beacon Fox News correspondent James Rosen reported Monday that the Obama administration campaigned extensively to deceive the media and the American people about key aspects of the Iran nuclear deal. – Washington Free Beacon Frederic Hof writes: President Obama and his assistant get high marks for, in the end, spelling it all out. They probably sincerely believe that Iraq 2003 sums up the wisdom and contribution of what they politely call "the foreign policy establishment." The view here is that their successors will need thoughtful (if fallible) and experienced (if imperfect) foreign policy practitioners—yes, the thoroughly disrespected "Blob"—to undo the damage they have done. – Atlantic Council Richard Cohen writes: If this is success, what constitutes failure? When Obama and his mind-melded sidekick proclaim their own brilliance and the failure of almost everyone else, what are they talking about? Maybe the president could use some obnoxious aides who challenge him and don’t come at him, puppy-like. First, though, they could use some humility. – Washington Post Jeffrey Goldberg writes: I did not find this mention of my name amusing at all, because Samuels is making a serious, unsourced, and unsubstantiated allegation against me in an otherwise highly credible publication (one for which I happened to work, in fact). And he did so without disclosing that he holds a longtime personal grudge against me. – The Atlantic As the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, Rhodes writes the president’s speeches, plans his trips abroad and runs communications strategy across the White House, tasks that, taken individually, give little sense of the importance of his role. He is, according to the consensus of the two dozen current and former White House insiders I talked to, the single most influential voice shaping American foreign policy aside from Potus himself. – New York Times Magazine
Lee Smith writes: For the last seven years the American public has been living through a postmodern narrative crafted by an extremely gifted and unspeakably cynical political operative whose job is to wage digital information campaigns designed to dismantle a several-decade old security architecture while lying about the nature of the Iranian regime. No wonder Americans feel less safe—they are. –The Weekly Standard Blog Aaron MacLean writes: Ben Rhodes is a functionary. Ben Rhodes is a talented, willful man. Ben Rhodes is a braggart. Ben Rhodes is a true believer. Most of all—I’ll say here what the profile’s author so clearly wants to say plainly, but for whatever reason, can’t bring himself to do so—Ben Rhodes is a liar. – Washington Free Beacon  Michael O’Hanlon writes: Trump raises a couple of valid specific critiques about alliance burden sharing in the world today. But he gets several specific points wrong, and misses the big picture: on balance, America’s alliances help this country to undergird a global security system that has dramatically reduced the prevalence of interstate war in modern times, while currently costing the country only 3 percent of its gross domestic product. To paraphrase Trump himself, this is a very good investment—and one that the U.S. global system of alliances and bases does much to make possible. – The National Interest
David Ignatius writes: If Clinton can’t counter Trump’s “America first” rhetoric and make the case that U.S. leadership is still crucial for our security, she won’t be a strong president. And she won’t have public support for the policies needed to rebuild U.S. credibility. – Washington Post |
AN ECONOMIC AGENDA FOR THE NEXT PRESIDENT
AMERICA'S COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
Peter Berkowitz: America A Commercial Republic
HENRY OLSON: POLITICAL DEMOGRAPHY
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August 2026
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