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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
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Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 27, 2009 / 4 Sivan 5769
Are we at peace?
By
Mona Charen
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Rome Here the sun is shining, the quiet Tiber suggests lazily
that it has seen everything there is to see in this world; the streets are
thronged with tourists (including this columnist); the locals are amorous;
and the food is delicious. Here, perhaps even more than in the United
States, one could easily slip into the comfortable feeling that we are at
peace. Explaining the Obama administration's departure from some Bush
interrogation techniques, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair
described reading about those methods "on a bright, sunny, safe day in …
2009."
Well, it feels peaceful now. But to paraphrase the great
Anonymous: The wise man learns from other people's mistakes. The sensible
man doesn't make the same mistake twice. And the fool fails to learn from
his own mistakes. History (and being in the Eternal City makes one more than
usually conscious of the past) affords thousands of examples of the folly of
falling into complacency when a threat seems to have temporarily abated.
Troy arguably fell for this at the hands of the Greeks. Europe's democracies
deluded themselves that Germany wanted peace as much as they did following
the catastrophic First World War. Israel failed to keep its guard up after
the 1967 war and was caught flat-footed (for a time) by the attack that came
in 1973. Fill in your own favorite examples.
This week the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has exploded
what looks to be a real nuclear weapon (the last explosion left some experts
in doubt) and also launched a short-range missile as, what, an exclamation
point perhaps? This destitute little redoubt of crazed Stalinism now has
something of value to sell to the highest bidder. And while we're
contemplating that grim picture, consider that there is a failure here.
We've heard incessantly since 2006 that George W. Bush's
handling of the Iraq War represented the failure of armed force. And while
it is certainly true that President Bush waited about two years too long to
fix the problems in post-invasion Iraq, the much-overlooked reality is that
developments in Iraq now seem to be on track for a happy ending. Even if you
believe that the price was too high in blood and money for the results
obtained, you cannot reasonably argue that the whole enterprise was a
failure. In place of a genocidal aggressor in Iraq, we now have something
that looks more democratic than any other Arab state.
The exclusively diplomatic approach, by contrast, has suffered a
complete and total failure in the case of North Korea. This was not a
failure simply of the Obama administration (U.S. Special Envoy Stephen
Bosworth last week noted that the Obama administration is "relatively
relaxed" and that "there is not a sense of crisis") but also of the Bush and
Clinton years. All of these administrations followed essentially the same
policy. Remember former President Jimmy Carter (Clinton's informal envoy)
proudly boasting of the "Framework Agreement" they had achieved? The U.S.
agreed to provide North Korea with fuel oil and two light-water nuclear
reactors in exchange for the DPRK's promise to suspend its nuclear weapons
program. When asked, a couple of years on, about North Korean violations,
Secretary of State Warren Christopher was reassuring: "The Framework Accord
between the United States and North Korea has proved to be quite durable
through a rather long period of time as we have gone through the steps
called for by the Accord. The United States has been furnishing oil and KEDO
(Korean Energy Development Organization) has been moving forward in its
processes. When I met with Foreign Minister Gong recently we agreed it was
very important to preserve the Framework Accord because through it we have
frozen the North Korean nuclear development …"
Clinton's next secretary of state was no less solicitous of
agreements. Madeleine Albright spent the last days of the Clinton presidency
posing with Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.
The Bush administration, after some initial tough talk, caved to
the State Department's diplomacy track. In its final months, the Bush
administration removed North Korea from a list of terror-sponsoring states.
No one has ridiculed this more pungently than former U.N. Envoy John Bolton:
"In the weeks before being delisted, North Korea expelled
international inspectors, first from its Yongbyon plutonium-reprocessing
facility and then from the entire complex. It moved to reactivate Yongbyon
and to conduct a possible second nuclear-weapons test, and prepared for an
extensive salvo of antiship and other missile capabilities. All of this the
Bush administration dismissed as North Korea's typical negotiation style."
The fruits of this path of "diplomacy only" blindly pursued
by three presidents are now clear. But those so eager to learn lessons
from mistakes in Iraq will probably be deaf to this one.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment on JWR contributor Mona Charen's column by clicking here.
Mona Charen Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
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