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Greg Richards
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November 2, 2022
A proposed MAGA manifestoWhat exactly is it about MAGA that Joe Biden hates so much?
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September 27, 2019
Dems must go after Trump if they want to protect Joe BidenAnd all Biden represents.
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May 21, 2019
One mystery in the Mueller report still needs solvingA nagging question remains, and we're entitled to the answer.
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September 2, 2018
A new strategy to combat the vocabulary of the leftWe conservatives have to adopt a new approach in public debate, in written pieces, in private conversation.
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July 18, 2018
Some questions following the Trump-Putin press conferenceMostly involving stupidity and sabotage.
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July 14, 2018
Mueller's new indictment underlines Intelligence Community incompetenceHighlighting the miserable failure of our national security agencies due to the liberalism of their leaders.
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May 29, 2018
The question nobody is asking about those 'stolen' Hillary emails Papadopoulos supposedly told Downer aboutComey and Mueller can't have it both ways.
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August 24, 2017
Antifa is the new KKKThe role of Antifa is to poison the well of support for President Trump, to make him seem illegitimate by causing chaos in public spaces at political events.
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March 8, 2017
The Obamacare repeal camelThe Republicans' Obamacare replacement continues the original sin of the law it's intended to improve.
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March 4, 2017
The Democrats' minuet on RussiaDemocrats seem to be dancing a minuet on Russia: holding hands, stepping around each other, and ending on the side opposite from which they started.
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March 3, 2017
Conservatism killed off by its sole focus on economicsConservatism has fallen apart based on its obsessive concern for economic welfare. It's forgotten social welfare.
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February 14, 2017
Trump’s visa pause based on the ConstitutionThe purpose of President Trump’s visa suspension from selected countries is found in the Constitution.
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December 18, 2016
How Trump will 'work with' CongressPresident-elect Trump’s policies, to the extent he needs Congressional support or approval – and he will on most of them – are not going to be decided “in Committee” or in “intense backdoor negotiations.”
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October 28, 2016
Rigging the election – Fourth James O’Keefe Video TranscriptA transcript of the fourth video of James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas Action (PVA), investigating the efforts by the Democrats and by the Hillary campaign in particular to rig the election.
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October 25, 2016
Rigging the Election: James O’Keefe’s Third VideoThis piece puts together the complete drama that James O’Keefe is telling in this third video.
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October 24, 2016
Hillary Clinton’s chain of command for dirty tricksIf you put together data from James O’Keefe’s two videos for Project Veritas Action, you can see the actual organizational structure used by the Democratic Party for vote-stealing dirty tricks.
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October 20, 2016
Hillary’s covert operations against TrumpAn essential guide to the second new video from James O'Keefe's Project Veritas Action.
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October 18, 2016
Viewer’s guide to the latest James O’Keefe Project Veritas Action videoInvestigating the covert operations behind the Hillary campaign to disrupt Donald Trump’s rallies. (Language warning.)
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October 17, 2016
An additional thought on the Trump tapeThis is not the time to think like a child.
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October 9, 2016
What should our response be to the Trump tape?And who is the party who's really disgraced by it?
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September 19, 2016
A new phase in the war on jihadHistory shows that because we are a commercial society, from time to time, bad guys think they are tougher than we are.
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July 25, 2016
Too conservative to vote for Trump?Some of those who think of themselves as "conservatives" have become as smug and self-regarding as liberals. And for as little reason.
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July 16, 2016
A startling conclusion on police brutalityHow do you avoid getting shot by the police?
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June 25, 2016
Answering the President's QuestionWhat would using the label "radical Islam" change? Well, everything.
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June 7, 2016
How long will citizens put up with riots at their peaceful political rallies?What if last week's rally in San Jose had been a western?
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April 10, 2016
The difference between Cruz and TrumpThe country doesn't exist to produce true conservatives; true conservatives exist to produce the country.
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March 23, 2016
What makes ISIS so effective?After the attack on Brussels, the question needs to be asked.
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January 27, 2016
Trump has melted the brains of the conservative commentariatTrump is not attacking liberalism, as the conservative commentariat wishes him to do; he is attacking the results of liberalism. To do that, you have to do things in the real world
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January 11, 2016
The Clinton Standard: Third World CorruptionWe have never before seen Clinton levels of corruption in the history of the country. And it is very dangerous, because it brings third-world style corruption into our system of government.
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December 28, 2015
The Polemics of Donald TrumpSince liberals control the vocabulary and the terms of debate in the public space, it takes both courage and skill to tell the truth in it. Donald Trump is the first one to do this in our lifetimes
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December 11, 2015
'Moderate Muslims' should support Trump's immigration proposalShouldn't they want to wring out "hijackers" of the religion from the mass of peaceful Muslims in which they are hiding?
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December 9, 2015
Benghazi: Dereliction of dutyJudicial Watch just released an email written by the civilian chief of staff to the Defense Department's Jeremy Bash. Reading it makes your blood run cold:
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December 5, 2015
A soldier, not a terrorist in San BernardinoA soldier, particularly one on a mission in enemy territory, is going to fit in, follow the local customs, not make waves.
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November 26, 2015
The Alien Nation on Its WayLiberalism can liquidate a society. It cannot build one. The Syrian refugees are an opportunity for Liberals to push further toward liquidation of the American Experiment.
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November 2, 2015
Muslim migration and our incurious pressWhat is really behind the "refugee crisis"?
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October 9, 2015
On immigration: enterprise vs. welfareBe careful about the cultures you inject via mass immigration, for they change society.
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August 4, 2015
America's First Socialist FortuneIf America should go down and historians are picking through the rubble, they will see the Clinton fortune as the moment when we abandoned faith in America’s destiny.
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July 19, 2015
The Iran deal: what's going on?The bottom line, no matter what comes out of all the talk, is that Iran gets the bomb.
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June 22, 2015
There is no Crisis in U.S.TradeThe "crisis" that the Trans-Pacific Partnership bill is meant to address doesn't exist. Why is this not a surprise?
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May 5, 2015
Islamophobia or Islamorealism?Standing up to the deplorable behavior of Islam in power is not Islamophobia.
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May 1, 2015
Alas, BaltimoreIt couldn’t have ended any other way, the black community having been subjected to the most intensive campaign to dissolve its culture in history. How did this come about?
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April 1, 2015
How to argue the case for Religious Freedom Restoration ActsForget the First Amendment, or, rather, let it be the nutmeg on the eggnog.
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March 11, 2015
Hillary's e-mails and our enemies' signals intelligenceThe payoff to penetrating command communications of the opposition is so enormous that our foes have devoted enormous efforts to hacking us.
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January 8, 2015
A statue in bronzeOften a still photograph is more powerful than a moving picture of the same event. Thus with yesterday's Charlie Hebdo massacre.
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January 2, 2015
Jonathan Gruber, Sorcerer's ApprenticeAs reality crashes into Obamacare like a slow motion train wreck, we might ask, “Is there one person who is responsible for this disaster?”
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December 22, 2014
The Big 4 who cried 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war on policeWho’s responsible for the assassinations of two New York police officers?
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December 1, 2014
Two AmericasWhat is the result of fifty years of liberal devastation? There are now two Americas -- Welfare America and Enterprise America.
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November 19, 2014
The Republican PredicateRight converts into power only with the support of the public. Republicans, take note.
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November 6, 2014
So where are we now?Some questions for Mr. Republican now strolling into the Senate majority.
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September 27, 2014
The Democrats' War on AmericaThe War on Women is a red herring. This is what (and where) the real war is.
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December 2, 2013
Iran's historic imperativeYou don't have to be Sigmund Freud to see what's going on.
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November 13, 2013
Lessons of Obamacare are exploding all around usOn October 1, 2013, we had the detonation of Obamacare
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October 28, 2013
Why didn't we send the cavalry to Benghazi?More questions than answers from the 60 Minutes report on Benghazi
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October 26, 2013
The Obamacare KlugeLibs have no respect for the achievements of other people. They cruise at 70,000 feet. They think things come into existence by fiat.
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October 8, 2013
So, are these the people you want running your health care?The president has decided that the people need to be punished, to "show them" what happens when he doesn't get his way. We are being warned.
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October 6, 2013
The people must be punishedIn the name of loving the people, socialism very quickly turns on the people.
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September 26, 2013
Republicans and the Kobayashi Maru testThe GOP is going to have to reprogram the problem.
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September 25, 2013
Republican Strategy for the Debt Ceiling CrisisIf Obama's position is that Congress is responsible for spending, then the smart thing for Republicans to do is to take him at his word and seize the day!
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July 29, 2013
'False crisis' over the federal debt?"False crisis" is the way Treasury Secretary Jack Lew characterized the federal debt yesterday. The charts tell the story.
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June 6, 2013
What to Do with the Power of the IRSThe IRS's targeting of conservative groups was not "mismanagement"; it is the leftist project come to fruition.
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May 24, 2013
London Mayor falling down"This is not a question, now, of blaming the religion of Islam..."
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May 24, 2013
IRS Frat PartiesThe IRS is basically like a fraternity on a college campus which uses its power to reward the cliques it favors.
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May 4, 2013
Studied IgnoranceBetter to have atrocities visited on us and our fellow citizens than acknowledge the enemy and destroy a world view..
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February 25, 2013
A new verbVocabulary is important. It is the means through which we make our argument, through which we move people. It's time to turn the tables on the Left.
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January 25, 2013
Vocabulary for the StruggleThe government promises to love you. It can't. The code of a bureaucracy is not to become personally involved. So the promise of love from the government is a lie it uses to seduce the public.
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January 17, 2013
The Obama Hat Trick: Three Hockey SticksSome charts to make your hair curl...and what we can do about them.
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January 5, 2013
The Budget: Where Do We Go from Here?There's a simple way to make the conservative case when it comes to the debt ceiling -- but it will require courage.
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December 27, 2012
The GOP's Budget ProblemFor reasons that most of us in the American Thinker community and observers such as Thomas Sowell find inexplicable, the Republicans simply will not make the budget case in public.
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November 15, 2012
Rendezvous with DestinyWho would have thought that it would fall to us, some of us in our so-called declining years (unless 60 is the new 40) to rescue the Republic?
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November 7, 2012
A terrible blowAdam Smith said "there is a lot of ruin in a nation." Let's hope he was right.
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October 19, 2012
Brass, Lies and VideotapeThe administration does not expect to be held accountable for its deeds.
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September 30, 2012
New Rules of Engagement in AfghanistanWe have made a major shift in both strategy and tactics, and not to the benefit of the fighting men on the ground.
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September 22, 2012
Newt Gingrich on the Islamist Challenge"Politically correct secularists cannot understand that we are participants in a global civil war between the modernizing and irreconcilable wings of Islam."
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August 3, 2012
Chick-fil-A, Obamacare and UsWhat does the Chick-fil-A incident tell us about Leftist control of our health care, which is what Obamacare ultimately is?
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July 18, 2012
Obamanomics 101When Obama said, "If you've got a business - you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen," he left out the best part: "from each according to his ability; to each according to his need."
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June 13, 2012
Obama's Spending and the Dog That Didn't BarkWhat is it that the Senate dog is familiar with and not barking at?
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July 19, 2011
About that astounding turnabout by ObamaWhen Obama says "domestic" he really means "discretionary," apparently
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July 18, 2011
An Astounding Turnabout by ObamaSomething remarkable occurred in President Obama's press conference on Friday (July 15). It was so astonishing that I was not sure I had heard right.
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June 27, 2011
Have the Democrats Given Up on Governing?Why no budget from the Dems? They don't want to deal with the fact that the bill for the welfare state has come due.
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May 19, 2011
Grow up, Secretary GeithnerDo we need any more evidence that unless his and the Administration's feet are held to the fire, we will never see any brake on spending?
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May 9, 2011
Glide Path to Federal Budget SustainabilityA glide path for federal spending to return the federal budget to break even, which is the same thing as long term sustainability, is possible.
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May 3, 2011
Osama Bin Laden and his tourist hideawayHmmm...so bin Laden was not exactly living rough in some cave in Waziristan in solidarity with his followers attacking the Great Satan in Afghanistan.
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May 2, 2011
Obama's Hockey Stick: The Federal DebtWe aren't dead yet, but this is one trend that truly spells crisis ahead.
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April 20, 2011
Where the Budget Deficit Actually Came FromWhere, exactly, and when, exactly, things got out of line.
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April 13, 2011
The budget deal cut spending, not the deficitWhy aren't we making more of the Dems running away from their responsibilities?
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April 1, 2011
Shutdown? Why are we still discussing the 2011 budget?The Democrats have abandoned their responsibility to the country.
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November 13, 2010
'Midway' Can Be Both a Condition and a PlaceThe midterm election victory and the Battle of Midway.
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August 28, 2010
Great prep for Sarah Palin for dealing with the DemsWho wants to bet that we have an aspiring Liberal here?
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August 22, 2010
Conviction Conservatives and the American RenaissanceThese are not ordinary times. The large question going forward is what kind of America we will have.
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August 20, 2010
Anti-Mosque rally planned for downtown New York on 9/11Expecting huge crowd to hear Bolton, Gingrich, Wilders, and others.
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June 29, 2010
How Did the New Deal Work Out?Since the administration is in the process of trying to "jump-start" the economy with deficit spending, it is useful to review how the policies of FDR actually worked out in terms of economic performance in the 1930s.
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May 26, 2010
Biden congratulates Brussels for being the new capital of the Free WorldWill the prostrations of this Administration never end?
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May 21, 2010
Arizona reductioIf there were a Nobel Prize in Law, it would be awarded to the Left this year.
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March 20, 2010
How is Obamacare like the sub-prime mortgage mess?A similar cast of characters making the same mistakes they made on Wall Street.
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February 28, 2010
Steyn on the Welfare StateRobbing future generations to pay for benefits given to this generation is finally catching up to the Euro-statists.
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January 9, 2010
Vastly improved casualty figures in 2009 for IraqWhile every death is an irreplaceable loss, the figures tell the story of military and civilian success.
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January 8, 2010
Thomas Sowell's new book a must readThe role of intellectuals in framing public debate
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December 22, 2009
Are we 'Refighting the last War' in Afghanistan?An excellent paper in the journal "Military Review" discusses that thesis.
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May 28, 2009
Would all parties receive fair treatment from Justice Sotomayor?Speaking of heritage and historical wrongs...
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March 10, 2009
What the government worker unions knowThe government wants to take over the provision of more and more services. Those who know the government best have a warning for the rest of us.
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September 12, 2008
President Bush - Loneliness of the long distance runnerNow that even Obama has admitted that the surge in Iraq is a success, it is perhaps worth recalling just how alone - except for McCain - Bush was politically when he made that decision in January 2007.
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June 13, 2008
Scalia dissentsOne of the joys of the Web is the ability to get the Supreme Court's opinions in real time and, particularly, reading the dissents of Justice Scalia to outrageous left-wing opinions.
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May 26, 2008
General Sanchez speaksIn the narrative on Iraq, General Ricardo Sanchez, our military commander in Iraq from May 2003 to June 2004, is generally regarded as "part of the problem." Now we have General Sanchez' story in the form of his new book Wiser in Battle.
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May 9, 2008
Two excellent histories released as audio booksThe arrival of excellent works in audio format is a cause for celebration for multi-taskers like me.
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April 11, 2008
Important comments from General KeaneFormer Vice-Chief of Staff General Jack Keane had some very interesting things to say about the Iraq conflict. On, of all places, PBS.
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March 7, 2008
Iraq Stock Exchange Index takes off againSince the beginning of 2008, the ISX is up 9%, a gain which essentially started in the middle of February.
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February 27, 2008
Mark Steyn on multiculturalismThere is a superb piece on Youtube with Mark Steyn riffing on multiculturalism. Well worth the few minutes it takes to watch it, but don't be drinking anything while you do!
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February 15, 2008
An open letter to Speaker PelosiMadame Speaker: I just heard on the news that you are leading the Democrats out of the House for a break without passing the new intelligence bill. What are you thinking?
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January 3, 2008
U.S. military fatalities in Iraq continued to drop in DecemberWhile we stand in awe of the willingness of our troops in Iraq to sacrifice themselves for the Nation, the fewer that are required to do so, the better.
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December 9, 2007
Shuttle diplomacyWe need to achieve a critical diplomatic objective in Iraq - some workable reconciliation between the Shia government and the Sunnis. There may be lessons from the past.
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December 8, 2007
Snapshot of conditions in IraqThe Washington Post's military correspondent Thomas Ricks has been an excellent source on the realities of the Iraq War.
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December 2, 2007
Favorable Iraq security trends continue in NovemberU.S. military fatalities in Iraq were 37, virtually the same as October's 38, and substantially below May's peak for this year of 126.
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November 28, 2007
A warning from General OdiernoThere is an extremely disturbing item in the current USAID report on Iraq, considering (a) the venue - the principal official reporting vehicle on the Iraq War - and (b) the source - General Odierno
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November 18, 2007
Further thoughts on Nazis and ChristianityThe word Nazi is a contraction of the German for National Socialism. National socialism as compared to what? As compared to international socialism, which was communism.
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November 17, 2007
Voting with their feetThis week's USAID report on Iraq has an item on refguees returning to Iraq: "The number of Iraqis returning to their country after fleeing abroad is growing, with more than 46,000 people coming home last month"
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November 12, 2007
Attack trends and oil production trends in IraqFollowing on the success of the surge is an encouraging trend in crude oil production in Iraq.
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November 3, 2007
Favorable trends in IraqThe recent trend of our military deaths in Iraq is favorable, which is not what was expected by the critics of the Petraeus strategy:
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October 14, 2007
Favorable trends in IraqWe are seeing favorable trends in a variety of figures of importance from Iraq
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October 10, 2007
David Kilcullen interviewCharlie Rose did a superb job interviewing David Kilcullen, the Australian colonel who was a senior advisor on counterinsurgency to General Petraeus for the first half of this year.
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September 9, 2007
When credit is due, take itOne of the colossal failures of the Bush Administration is in the realm of grabbing credit for its accomplishments in Iraq.
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September 1, 2007
Report on Iraq from David KilcullenNow retired and writing under the diminutive "Dave Kilcullen" Australian Lt. Colonel David Kilcullen, an expert on insurgency has posted a most interesting dispatch on Small Wars Journal.
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August 26, 2007
Iraqi villagers drive-off AQ gunmenThe New York Post carries an AP story today of two villages in Dyala driving off attacks by al-Qaeda with considerable bloodshed
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August 19, 2007
Iraq Stock Exchange up 64% This YearWhat do Iraqi investors know that the Democrats in this country don't?
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August 4, 2007
E.J. Dionne Defends KosIn a remarkable column in the Washington Post yesterday, E.J. Dionne defends Daily Kos and by extension the Yearly Kos convention this weekend to which the Democratic presidential candidates, with the noble exception of Joe Biden, are progressing to pledge solidarity.
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July 24, 2007
Phone Report By Michael Yon from IraqGlenn Reynolds (The Glenn and Helen Show) has a 17 minute phone call with Michael Yon from Baqubah. You can punch on the on-screen player and hear it online.
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July 23, 2007
Iraq: Progress from the Bottom UpThere is an important post from Michael Yon on Friday describing a reconciliation meeting (my term, not his) in Baqubah led by Col. Steve Townsend, the American commander for that area of operations.
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July 22, 2007
Tactical change in IraqThomas Ricks reports that our military leaders are making informal "handshake" deals to release selected detainees back to their communities in return for information and assistance in fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
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July 20, 2007
Surge in Iraq Stock Exchange continuesThe Iraq Stock Exchange Index (ISX) surged another 6.2%, resulting in a year-to-date gain of 33.5%.
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July 15, 2007
A crocus in IraqIt is not the season for crocuses, the harbingers of spring and thus of new life, but we seem to have had one push its head up last week
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July 13, 2007
Turnaround in AnbarOne of the success stories that is coming to light as a result of the "mid-term" report the president issued on Iraq this week is the stunning turnaround in Anbar province
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July 10, 2007
What is to be done?It is impossible to understand the current political dynamics of the Iraq War without accepting that from the summer of 2003 to the fall of 2006 - 3 years - the entire venture was essentially adrift.
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July 9, 2007
Displacement activityOne of the contributions of anthropology in the last generation has been the concept of "displacement activity." This is activity that is a substitute for attacking an intruder to the group.
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July 6, 2007
Reframing the fight against IslamistsThe Bush Administration, with its usual half-measures in making its case - our case - in public, had a very flat, pro-forma response to the most recent videotape of al-Qaeda's number 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri
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May 24, 2007
Hydrogen fusion (updated)The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is engaged in a project to attempt controlled fusion.
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May 19, 2007
Pressing onIn a short press release dated May 15, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq announced the creation of the Iraq Transition Assistance Office by an Executive Order signed by the President on May 9. This Office replaces the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.
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May 9, 2007
America and IsraelThe Israeli historian Michael Oren is on a tour to promote his new book Power, Faith and Fantasy which is about American involvement in the Middle East over the last 300 years. As part of his narrative, he tells the story of the spiritual intertwinement between the founding Puritans and the Land of Israel:
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April 27, 2007
A significant date in the war on terrorWhy does Surrender Harry Reid in particular and the Democrat leadership in general want to, well, surrender in Iraq?
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April 17, 2007
Is the USA worthy of its servants?Three retired generals are said to have turned down an offer to become what the authors called the "Czar" for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
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April 13, 2007
Iraq developmentsSeveral developments have occurred in the Iraq narrative in the last few days:
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April 11, 2007
Seize the opportunityOne of the things that totally mystifies us supporters of the Bush Administration is its absolute, total, continuous, inexplicable refusal to make its case in the public forum.
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April 6, 2007
Road to Damascus (a poem)Nancy, with the headscarf and the smile Walking a dhimmi mile On the Road to Damascus.
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April 4, 2007
Commentary article on counterinsurgencyThe April edition of Commentary magazine has a most interesting article on counterinsurgency, discussing the French experience in Algeria and the strategy developed by a French colonel, David Galula.
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April 1, 2007
The possessedPutting two children in a car and blowing them up. Driving a car into a group of boys playing soccer and blowing them up. The sacrifice of children. Who does this sound like?
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March 30, 2007
TonguetiedThe Administration seems determined not to seize opportunities to make its case. An example:
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March 28, 2007
Inflation moderates in IraqThe Central Bank of Iraq publishes an array of "key financial indicators" on its website. One of these is inflation
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March 26, 2007
Nancy Pelosi wants to fight them herePresident Bush wants to fight them there. When you cut through all the clutter, that is the difference between the position of the Speaker of the House and the President
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March 24, 2007
Report from the Iraq frontGeneral Petraeus has assembled a team of "mavericks". One of them has posted some interesting observations.
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March 23, 2007
Marvelous essay on "how liberals think"On March 5, Evan Sayet, a new name to me but apparently a well-known conservative (!) figure in Hollywood, delivered the "speech of the century" (my characterization)
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March 22, 2007
Iraq Stock Exchange continues to surgeThe Iraq Stock Exchange surged again yesterday, up 2.27%.
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March 18, 2007
Are we winning in Iraq?Iraq is the only country in the Middle East with all three great resources - water, oil and arable land. And a vigorous population. Quite a combination if the bad guys can be defeated
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March 16, 2007
Predicate for a PardonThe background of the Scooter Libby affair is the collapse of intelligence over the last 15 years. It is useful to revisit this very briefly in order to put a possible pardon in perspective.
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March 8, 2007
General Petraeus' press conferenceGeneral Petraeus had a most illuminating press conference today (March 8, 2007) in Iraq. It is available on video
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March 7, 2007
Iraq Stock Exchange IndexThe Iraq Stock Exchange maintains a comprehensive index, the Iraq Stock Exchange Index (the ISX). It is one measure of confidence in the Iraqi economy
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March 4, 2007
What we are dealing withIraqSlogger has a video clip showing the execution of Iraqi captives by al-Qaeda after the usual tiresome pseudo-religious voiceover claptrap
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February 20, 2007
The cavalry arrivesA positive post yesterday by Mohammed at Iraq the Model on conditions in Baghdad:
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February 16, 2007
The command for IraqWednesday, President Bush led off his press conference with a comment which, to my ear, was very significant
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February 13, 2007
Bush on C-SPANThere was a very good interview of President Bush on C-SPAN on Sunday, February 11, 2007
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February 10, 2007
Scipio AsiaticusThis morning (Saturday, February 10, 2007), General David Petraeus acceded to the command of the coalition forces in Iraq - MultiNational Force - Iraq (MNF-I).
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February 4, 2007
Casualties of WarThe sustainability of our effort in Iraq is being questioned in part due to the toll that combat is taking on our forces. In this regard, it is useful to compare the Iraq War with previous American wars
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February 3, 2007
Seven questions for the NIEThe declassified summary of the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq (an NIE is the intelligence community's maximum document) is on the Web
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February 2, 2007
Another Leftie embarrasses himself (updated)The Washington Post online (washingtonpost.com) has an opinion column ("Early Warning") by someone called William Arkin. Mr. Arkin is hilariously clueless
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February 1, 2007
Charlie Rose debriefs John BurnsOccasionally a combination of the New York Times and PBS produces something positive.
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January 25, 2007
Encouraging signs in IraqNibras Kazimi has a column in today's (Thursday January 25, 2007) New York Sun titled "Turnaround in Baghdad." His thesis is that we are making real progress in Iraq
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January 24, 2007
General Petraeus' assessment of U.S. mistakes in IraqAs part of his testimony in his promotion hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee today (Tuesday January 23, 2006), General Petraeus submitted answers to a series of questions from the senators
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January 22, 2007
Two thoughts on the Duke caseA significant part of the Duke Faculty - always excepting the magnificent James Coleman, the Duke law professor who is the Atticus Finch of this affair, a righteous man unafraid to speak the truth in public - hates a significant part of its student body
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January 19, 2007
How do we know if we are winning or losing in Iraq?How do we know if we are winning or losing in Iraq? We know that the MSM has a very dangerous model - "if it bleeds, it leads."
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January 15, 2007
Positive signs in IraqA look at the price of the Iraqi dinar through today, Jan. 15, shows that it keeps moving up.
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January 13, 2007
A thought for Condi -
January 10, 2007
There's something happening hereThe Iraqi dinar continues its sharp move upward to its current record valuation (the new dinar was introduced in October 2003).
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January 10, 2007
A missing pieceA good speech by Bush tonight. We all hope this will work. But there is a missing piece
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January 8, 2007
Iraqi dinar continues its surgeThe Iraqi dinar continues its recent surge, now up 11% from its early September value. As anyone familiar with financial markets knows, it is not in their nature to go in one direction indefinitely
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January 6, 2007
A soldier's thoughtsThis column by a returned reservist speaks for itself. An excerpt: "By any measure of logic I should resign my commission, but I can't quite bring myself to do it."
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January 1, 2007
What is the balance sheet on Iraq?We must evaluate the situation in Iraq in terms of the interests of the United States. If we accept the point of view of our enemies, or even of Iraqis, we are faced with an impossible situation because our enemies want us to lose, and we cannot satisfy all the objectives of all Iraqis - we cannot be the "good guys" to everybody.
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December 27, 2006
The question of combat fatigueStrategy Page has an analysis of the factor of combat fatigue in the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An excerpt: The bottom line is that the stress of combat has a cumulative psychological effect on soldiers
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December 27, 2006
Is the Iraqi economy crashing through here?Are we watching a John Ford western taking place in Iraq, where the private economy is in the role of the cavalry, riding to the rescue?
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December 24, 2006
Do they know something in Iraq that we don't?Here is a chart on the Iraqi dinar taken from the safedinar.com website. The time scale is January 24, 2004 - December 24, 2006. What the chart says is that the Iraqi dinar has increased in value on the market by 9% from August 24, 2006 to December 24, 2006.
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December 22, 2006
Rotation and VictoryIt has been announced recently that John Abizaid, our top general in Iraq, will retire early next year. By all accounts, Abazaid is now and has been an exemplary soldier, a servant of the Republic.
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December 10, 2006
ISG's solipcismThe Assessment section of the Iraq Survey Group Report (ISGR) is very good, very hard-hitting. It reflects what certainly seems to be unpleasant conditions in Iraq. The despair reflected in the ISGR is based on the alleged chaos in Iraq. But our primary concern is the situation in America, and that situation is very good
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December 7, 2006
First Thoughts on the Iraq Study Group ReportForget the Executive Summary which is a collection of platitudes and wish-lists. If the assumptions in the Executive Summary were true - for instance that Iraq's neighbors see themselves as having a stake in a stable and successful Iraq - the problem would have been solved long ago and our troops would be home.
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December 5, 2006
Chafee's legacyWell, at least, as Nixon might have put it, we won't have Lincoln Chaffee to kick us around any more. But to in effect fire John Bolton! What can he have been thinking? To deny appointment to an advocate for American policy as effective as John Bolton, well, the word betrayal comes to mind.
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November 29, 2006
Winston Churchill and the PM of IraqToday the American president is meeting with the prime minister of a beleagured ally, beset by a vicious foe that is grounded in pure evil. What if someone like Winston Churchill were Prime Minister of Iraq? Very likely we would be hearing something like this....
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November 26, 2006
The role of victoryA surprising thing seems to have happened in the recent two military engagements of our side against the Islamic radicals - the Israel/Hezb'allah War and the Iraq War. Neither Israel nor ourselves defined our objective in our respective wars as "victory." Rather than victory we both seem to have opted for attempting to secure the good opinion of our enemies.
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November 19, 2006
Primer on Islamic imperialism -
November 12, 2006
What We Could Lose -
August 22, 2006
Renascence of the Third Reich -
July 26, 2006
A Few of the Basics of War -
July 24, 2006
Kofi's War -
June 16, 2006
The big difference between Vietnam and Iraq -
April 18, 2006
Rumsfeld's Enemies and the White Flag of Surrender -
December 29, 2005
NSA surveillance and the contrapositive -
December 1, 2005
Sustaining the narrative