Column Archive

It’s sometimes said that in the United States, Democrats are from Venus and Republicans are from Mars. Rarely has that seemed truer than this presidential cycle, an election in which both parties seem to be operating in completely different realities when it comes to foreign policy and national security. Consider the recent polls asking voters of each party what issue is most important to them this election season. According to the most recent NBC poll, a third of GOP voters pick terrorism as their biggest concern. Next is jobs and the economy. A New York Times poll of Republican voters […]

Since November, the U.S. government, with a big assist from Congress, has been narrowing the eligibility for citizens of 38 countries to enter the U.S. without visas. The constant adjustments to the rules say a lot about the U.S. government’s preoccupation with terrorism over other policy interests, its inability to anticipate secondary effects of new policies, and America’s deep ambivalence about dual citizenship. In a rare instance of executive and congressional cooperation, both branches of the U.S. government have been working to prevent any misuse of the established visa-waiver program by terrorists. Congress created the program nearly 30 years ago, […]

Would anyone like to save Europe from itself? The continent is presently enduring economic weakness, an influx of refugees, rising nationalism and a general sense of insecurity. All too often, its leaders’ collective response to these multiple threats is not to take decisive action but to look around for someone else to do so, echoing the motto of Charles Dickens’ eternal optimist, Mr. Micawber: “Something will turn up.” The range of “somethings” that might dig Europe out of its strategic hole is broad. Russia could become more moderate, easing security fears. Turkey and African states might adopt robust policies to […]