J.E. Dyer

If we should have learned anything since January 2011, it’s that Middle Eastern unrest is growing because of a good half a dozen really important things other than “Israel.”

Is this the face of Christianity, as Christian Century would like to see it displayed? For my part, I repudiate it without hesitation.

Western culture as a whole lost the habit of defining authority for social purposes, and training its children to both respect and administer it.

It could not have happened at all if Britain weren’t already pretty far gone.

This is the second time reports have surfaced that Israel hit Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center.

Ghe Iran nuclear problem is not one that can be dealt with via a small, pinpoint strike, in a matter of only minutes on target.

It is not obvious that any group or type of person in particular mounted this one, nor can any be ruled out.

Slinging force around, with press notices, is not what a strong president does.

Based on the Associated Press's definition, whom exactly can a reporter call an Islamist?

Now is a good time for the EU to take stock and recognize that the entire Cyprus problem, like the Greece problem, was created by the actions of government.

Nukes aren’t something you wave around like a drunk brandishing a knife.

At least Russia and China are probably as mystified as we are about where Obama is going with his missile defense policy.

It is unconscionable of Obama to handle the sequestration threat the way he has - crippling our ability to readily strike Iran.

There is a foreign-policy aspect of 'perception benefits' Obama hopes to garner from a photo-op tour of Israel.

To advance our objectives in the War on Terror there was and will be nothing to justify the extra-judicial, standoff-distance execution of a US citizen.

Our president is supposed to bind himself to constitutional meanings.

Chuck Hagel writes his own narrative, in which threats aren’t really threats and policies that actually work are just horrible.

Connecticut has some of the tightest restrictions in the country and Mrs. Lanza was in full compliance with them.

At least we can probably count on the Muslims Brotherhood to refrain from making bunny-snuff videos.

One of the key lessons from a career in Naval Intelligence is that if you can imagine it, someone is trying to do it.

Missile tests popping up all over Asia should be seen in this light. Everyone’s arming up, starting with Russia

Many readers are no doubt aware of the millions in taxpayer dollars that the Obama administration has contracted out to PR firms for the purpose of hawking Obamacare to a reluctant public.

Morsi has assumed dictatorial powers in Egypt. Courageous Egyptians are protesting that move, but Morsi has less compunction than Mubarak did, and we can expect the protests to be dealt with effectively. Those of us who said Morsi was an Islamist extremist who would quickly reestablish authoritarianism in Egypt – with a sharia flavor – were right. There’s a new Pharaoh in town.

Why are we sending an amphibious readiness group (ARG) with a Marine expeditionary unit (MEU) embarked to sit off the Levantine coast? U.S. officials say it’s to be prepared for any eventuality, including the need to evacuate American citizens, as the conflict between Hamas and Israel heats up.

No summary of today’s events would be complete without mentioning the backstory on the IDF’s operation name.

Attacks from Gaza on Israel have ramped up significantly in the last several days. An Israeli patrol was hit by what was thought to be a roadside bomb on Tuesday (three were wounded), near the border fence with Gaza. On Saturday, terrorists in Gaza fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli jeep with four infantrymen in it, as the patrol operated in the area of the roadside bomb attack. The four soldiers were wounded, one severely. More than 80 rockets have been launched from Gaza into Israel since the attack on the jeep on Saturday, 10 November. At least three Israeli civilians were injured in the rocket attacks. Geography is beginning to rear its head again, as Israel has also sustained incursions into the Golan from Syria in recent days.

In the early dawn of 24 October, an arms factory in Sudan was attacked in the Yarmouk Industrial Complex approximately 6 miles south of central Khartoum. Video of the exploding building makes it clear that it was an arms factory, with an extended series of powerful secondary explosions characteristic of ammunition dumps. A Sudanese official claims that four Israeli aircraft conducted a strike on the factory.

Romney sees the Navy as a core element of our enduring strategic posture. For national defense and for the protection of trade, the United States has from the beginning sought to operate in freedom on the seas, and, where necessary, to exercise control of them. We are a maritime nation, with extremely long, shipping-friendly coastlines in the temperate zone and an unprecedented control of the world’s most traveled oceans, the Atlantic and Pacific.

The news keeps getting worse. The Washington Free Beacon reports today that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has “blocked” four senior military officers from answering questions on the Benghazi attack posed by Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC).

We’ve reached a watershed here, where we either live in our own heads affirming reality, regardless of spurious inputs from demagoguery or sentiment, or we give up on reality and let demagoguery and sentiment take over at the decision table. Did the president pull off a performance last night, in terms of sounding passionate and full of conviction? To some extent, yes. Does that mean he won the debate, or even achieved a draw with Romney? No.