WASHINGTON—On a night in 1998, an engineer from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and his wife went to the movie theater and watched Will Smith star in Enemy of the State, a film that features wide-area surveillance systems. “Where everyone else in the audience was no doubt terrified by what they saw on the screen, he […]
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Report: Saudi Arabia Increases Aid, Influence in Pakistan
Saudi Arabia continues offering economic aid to Pakistan in hopes of spreading its Sunni Islam influence across the Arab world as it also pursues an anti-Iran agenda, according to a recent Brookings Institution report. Author Madiha Afzal, visiting fellow on foreign policy, global economy, and development at Brookings, noted that Saudi Arabia has been fostering […]
Bookshelf: Revisiting Kissinger’s DIPLOMACY After 25 Years
From Claremont Review of Books Digital This year marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of Henry Kissinger’s Diplomacy. With the exception of his superb three-volume memoirs of his service as national security adviser and secretary of state to Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford—White House Years (1979), Years of Upheaval (1982), and Years of Renewal (1999)—Diplomacy is Kissinger’s best book. […]
A New, Broader Understanding of the Nature of War
From WAR ROOM —Online Journal of the U.S. Army War College “There is no spoon.” The 1999 film, The Matrix, held a critical lesson for its protagonist, Neo. One cannot change physical reality; one can change only oneself. The message came from a young boy who was apparently bending spoons telepathically, but as he hands an unbent spoon to Neo, he said, “Do not try to bend […]
Raisi Groomed as Successor to Iran Supreme Leader
Hojjat ol Eslam Embrahim Raisi, tapped in March to head Iran’s judiciary, is now considered the favorite to be the next Iranian supreme leader, according to an American Enterprise Institute report released in June. Prior to his judicial appointment by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kahmenei, Raisi was custodian and a chairman of Astan Quds Razavi, […]
China Forcing Taiwan to Rethink Defense, Economic Strategies
WASHINGTON—China’s continued rise as a superpower has forced Taiwan to rethink its defense and economic strategies to respond to growing threats from the mainland. Taiwanese and American scholars discussed these developments and evaluated the current state of U.S.- Taiwan relations at the Heritage Foundation on June 12. I-Chung Lai, president of the Prospect Foundation, a […]
Perspective: Realists, Nationalists, and ‘Liberal World Order’
From Claremont Review of Books Realists and nationalists are winning the current U.S. foreign policy debate. Rejecting internationalist policies to build a “liberal world order” through the spread of democracy, markets, and global institutions, they advocate a strategy that defends America’s borders and preeminence in the Western Hemisphere, calling for intervention in other hemispheres only when […]
Privately Funded Wall Construction Begins Near El Paso
From In Homeland Security For many years, there have been several attempts to recruit donors and privately raise money to build additional sections of fencing and barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Historically, they have not amounted to much activity until very recently. According to FOXNews.com, a privately funded organization called “We Build the Wall” began work […]
Smugglers Using Drones to Guide Illegal Entrants
From In Homeland Security According to the U.S. Border Patrol in the El Paso sector, human smugglers are using drones to help guide groups of immigrants looking to enter the United States illegally. Drone-Assisted Illegal Entry at US Border A report by KVIA7 News indicated that in mid-April 2019, a Border Patrol agent was monitoring the […]
Perspective: Immigration and Christian Realism
From First Things For much of my life, I believed in open borders. Aside from violent criminals, I could think of no person who had entered this country illegally or overstayed a visa who deserved to be sent away. But in fact, I had thought little about the matter. I simply meant well, and I knew […]