Obama’s Push to Fund UNESCO is No Joke
Even amidst the flurry of overt philo-Semitism that is the hallmark of President Obama’s election year Jewish charm offensive, some remnants of his less appealing foreign policy stands persist. One...
View ArticleOlympics and the International Community
From the moment the International Olympic Committee (IOC) turned down the request to commemorate the deaths of Israeli Olympians killed in Munich forty years ago the tone was set for how the games...
View ArticlePalestinian Stimulus: Terrorists Get a Raise
Back in July, I wrote about the billions of dollars in aid given to the Palestinians by the United States and the continued lack of institution building with that money. I asked where the money goes,...
View ArticleErdoğan: Immunity for Me but not for Thee
When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in Turkey almost a decade ago, it promoted itself as a clean alternative after years of governance by corrupt parties and politicians. Many...
View ArticleCan Social Media Bring Free Speech to China?
Despite the Chinese government’s best efforts to block the spread and influence of social media, it appears that its stranglehold on information is slipping, forcing the government to take steps toward...
View ArticleIs the U.S. Cracking Down on Corruption in Afghanistan?
There has been a lot of blowback in Afghanistan and Washington about the decision by U.S. military commanders to blacklist Kam Air, a large civilian airline, from receiving military contracts because...
View ArticleImplications and Lessons of Afghanistan Corruption
According to the United Nations, Afghans spent $3.9 billion on bribery in 2012. According to the Associated Press report: The cost of corruption in Afghanistan rose sharply last year to $3.9 billion,...
View ArticlePolitical Princes and Corruption
The rise and fall of Jesse L. Jackson Jr. provides an object lesson in the one kind of entitlement that Washington has yet to successfully wipe out. The former congressman pled guilty today to counts...
View ArticleWhat Would Montesquieu Make of Modern New York?
In the wake of the latest New York City corruption scandal, the New York Times convened a panel to answer an interesting question: Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains, to our knowledge, above and...
View ArticleAre Obama’s Scandals Reaching Critical Mass?
Last week was one of the worst for Obama in his presidency. This week looks no better. Indeed, it may be a long, hot summer for the White House. As Jonathan has pointed out, the IRS scandal is growing...
View ArticleThe Danger and Rampant Corruption of Traffic Light Cameras
The ongoing IRS scandal has struck such a nerve with the public because it is a clear example of a prying, ever-present government abusing its revenue-raising power and succumbing to the temptation of...
View ArticleDoes Development Really Bring Security?
Critics of U.S. involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan often make two mutually exclusive points. The first is that the wars have been tremendously costly, and the second is that the means to win...
View ArticleDissolve USAID and Revamp Foreign Aid
Last month, I wrote about how much money the United States has wasted in Iraq and Afghanistan—not in terms of the military mission, which I continue to support, but rather because of the misguided...
View ArticleWhy Everyone’s Talking About John Sopko
If you read this morning’s edition of three of our prominent national newspapers, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post, you may have noticed something: the sudden necessity of...
View ArticleFor ObamaCare’s Enemies, the Law
In my discussion recently of the scourge of bureaucratic lawmaking during the Obama administration, I’ve generally focused on federal agencies enacting rules that could not be passed by Congress, thus...
View ArticleHow to Cheat Americans in Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan has often been upheld as a model of stability in Iraq. Last month, it held largely free, even if limited elections. (Masud Barzani, facing a two-term limit, in tin-pot dictator fashion,...
View ArticleThe Problem of the Middle East’s First Sons
The Turkish corruption scandal continues to boil as, in Ankara, the ministers of finance, interior, and environment have resigned. The latter, Erdoğan Bayraktar, went even further, calling on Prime...
View ArticleTurkey’s AKP Should Be Diplomatic Pariahs
The Turkish-American relationship was once tight, and rightfully so. Whatever Turkey’s domestic problems and its democracy deficit, it was a strong ally. It fought beside the United States and against...
View ArticleThe Silver Lining in Israel’s Legal Dramas
The conviction of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert on corruption charges, stemming from his tenure as mayor of Jerusalem, no doubt dismays his supporters who were hoping he would stage a...
View ArticleWho Buys Votes? Incumbents, Not the Rich
The furor over the Supreme Court’s decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission handed down yesterday revolves, as I wrote earlier, around the problems liberals have with the First Amendment’s...
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