The Lion's Den

If Hamas knows it cannot defeat the Israel Defense Forces and will get a bloody nose for its efforts, it obviously has motives other than victory in mind.

Before the "8 March Revolution," Syria had been exceptionally unstable. Then came the heavy hand of the Ba'athists.

Israeli responses have been stark, blunt unlike anything in memory.

I vote Republican because I support the party's core message of individualism, patriotism, and respect for tradition, in contrast to the core Democratic message of dependence, self-criticism, and "progress." I am inspired by the original reading of the U.S. Constitution, by ideals of personal freedom and American exceptionalism. I vote for small government, for a return of power to the states, for a strong military, and an assertive pursuit of national interests.

Middle East expert Daniel Pipes advocates backing Assad in Syria to keep the civil war there going.

Should the crackdown succeed in isolating, weakening, and destroying the Islamists, then others will replicate it elsewhere.

Special Ops used to be about capturing or killing enemies; now it's about shaping public opinion.

Barack Obama has a weak record in the Middle East, but one would not learn this from the debate, where Mitt Romney praised Obama's achievements ("It's wonderful that Libya seems to be making some progress"), agreed with Obama more than he disagreed, and rarely pointed out his failings. Presumably, Romney took this mild approach to establish his likability, competence, and suitability to serve as commander-in-chief.

Now that Israelis humiliated themselves and Erdogan is rampaging ahead, some are awakening to the fact that this apology only made matters worse.

Secure Freedom Radio Originally published at Daniel Pipes

The military has grown so large because of preferential tax treatment, subsidized labor, an extra-legal status, and old-boy networks.

The sort of reasoning going around in Turkey regarding the Israeli strike in Syria can quickly leave one with a sore head.

Even the modestly dressed and Islamist friendly Catherine Ashton did not escape being photoshopped.

Other characteristically Muslim crimes taking place in Western countries include honor killings, female genital mutilation, and slave holding.

The Nation of Islam's historic role as a bridge between American blacks and Islam ended in 1975 when W. Deen Mohammed followed his father, Elijah Muhammad, as leader of the Nation and immediately disavowed his father's folk religion, bringing his followers to normative Islam, the Islam of the Middle East. From then on, despite the theatrics of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation has been in a long downward trajectory. Now comes evidence, thanks to Tony Ortega in the Village Voice and Eliza Gray in The New Republic, of a jaw-dropping turn by Farrakhan, 79, to Scientology; as Gray's subtitle puts it, "America's two weirdest sects join forces."

Erdogan's government has mastered the art of provocation and is being rewarded for it.

The 25-minute show was the most hare-brained and loony of my 35 years going on television.

Both law enforcement, the media and elected officials are reluctant to give out information about the attackers' religion, much less their motives.

One must expect future non-suicide bombers to turn to niqabs or burqas, as many terrorists and criminals have repeatedly done.

By all accounts, the mullahs in Tehran are getting ever closer to the point where they at will can order nuclear bombs to be made and readied for use.

Things have never been so good in the Jewish state.

What a launch for Kerry, whose mental vapidity promises to make Hillary Clinton actually look good in retrospect.

His singular foreign policy accomplishment, trumpeted ad nauseam, was the execution of Osama bin Laden.

Dallas was a bastion of right-wing kooks with a vast legacy -- now, watch how this bastion gets blamed for the communist Oswald...

Unlike nearby Israel, which is also surrounded, Cyprus lacks either a military option or protective fences.

Though my suggestion to now back Assad to prevent Jihadi takeover and allow both sides to fight themselves to exhaustion was rejected, it seems now the administration is taking note of my counsel.

If Assad is winning, Western governments should respond by helping the rebels to prevent Assad from crushing them.

Odd that CUFI is out there swinging and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is silent.

Extra thoughts that could not make the main text of "When AIPAC Went AWOL."

As Netanyahu appears to be making excessive and immoral concessions to the Palestinian Authority, Danon has emerged as a leading dissident ready to challenge his prime minister