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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
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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
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
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
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
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
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
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 24, 2009
/ 1 Sivan 5769
Mars and Venus collide
By
Kathleen Parker
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Listening to President Obama and former vice president Dick Cheney give their respective national security speeches Thursday put me in mind of John Gray, author of "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus."
Different men, different planets. Or are they?
Obama, standing before the U.S. Constitution and speaking to members of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, was the calm voice of confidence, redeemer of reason. He spoke loftily of American ideals and invoked our better angels.
Reiterating his case for closing Guantanamo, voted down by the Senate a day earlier, he also said there's no guarantee that terrorists won't attack again or that Americans won't die as a result. But, we'll win anyway. How?
By being good people.
"Because the terrorists can only succeed if they swell their ranks and alienate America from our allies, and they will never be able to do that if we stay true to who we are; if we forge tough and durable approaches to fighting terrorism that are anchored in our timeless ideals."
Thus spake Venus.
And I thought: What a good man. This is what America needs.
Then came Cheney. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, he pulled no punches in his criticism of the Obama administration's security policies or in defending the Bush administration's.
His voice was also calm and reasonable, his remarks simultaneously sharp and blunt. Cheney said that he remains a strong proponent of enhanced interrogation techniques, which he said were used only on "hardened terrorists after other efforts had failed." The interrogations "were legal, essential, justified, successful, and the right thing to do."
Cheney was especially forceful in criticizing Obama's "selective release" of documents on the interrogation program without also releasing the intelligence those interrogations produced.
"The public was given less than half the truth," he said. "The released memos were carefully redacted to leave out references to what our government learned through the methods in question."
Hail, Mars! I'm thinking: This is just what the nation needs. Someone who shoots straight (well, figuratively speaking).
So: Soaring, inspiring rhetoric on the one hand and gritty determination on the other. Two very different men, worlds apart in nearly every way. The old-timer with decades of experience and a shiv for a smile vs. the newcomer with a moonbeam in his eye. Which one is right? Is the answer only a matter of ideology or is there some larger truth therein?
Perhaps both are right in their own time and place, given their experiences and perspectives. From the relative security of hindsight, it is easier to say what we might have done differently. As Cheney put it: "Watching a coordinated, devastating attack on our country from an underground bunker at the White House can affect how you view your responsibilities."
It may be that Obama was simply wiser than all those other Americans who supported the invasion of Iraq. Maybe he is a man of greater moral character than those in the CIA and Justice Department who determined that enhanced interrogations were justified to prevent another attack.
Obama said it best: "There are no neat or easy answers here."
But it is also true that seven years ago, the burden of protecting the nation from another attack did not fall on Obama's shoulders. Since taking office, he has discovered the weight of that burden and tweaked his promises and policies accordingly.
Transparency isn't always in the national interest, he said Thursday. Obama sounded like George W. Bush or Cheney when he reversed himself on releasing photos of detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that their release would inflame anti-American sentiment and further endanger American troops.
Likewise, Obama has reserved the right to order enhanced interrogation techniques should circumstances warrant. What would those be, one wonders? Perhaps a massive terrorist attack on American soil? Bloody right.
Yet, as Cheney said, Obama's team speaks "as if they have resolved some great moral dilemma" in how to get terrorists to talk. In reality, they've postponed the decision "while assigning a presumption of moral superiority to any decision they might make in the future."
Nobody ever said that Obama wasn't artful.
Whether Obama's worldview is the right one and Cheney's wrong may become clearer with time. We can all pray that Obama doesn't have to experience the revelations that occur in the White House bunker. But if he does, we might also pray that the man from Venus indulges his inner Martian just a little.
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