The New York Times is reporting: SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean troops fired two machine-gun bursts at a South Korean guard post across their heavily militarized border on Friday night, and soldiers from the South returned fire with three
and he will have a budget of more than $1 billion a year to work with, Melanie Phillips reports in The Spectator (UK). An excerpt: “People like myself who have warned for some years now about the steady Islamisation of
It used to be that America’s economic performance garnered us credibility with the rest of the world. But now the world is increasingly looking to China and other countries as a model for prosperity. The reason? America’s creative business leaders
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reports: “WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday that it had no problem with Iran sending bags of cash to President Hamid Karzai but hoped that this assistance would not have a ‘negative’ influence on Afghanistan.” There,
The U.S. Constitution makes a civilian, the President, our commander in chief. This is a good thing. But it also means that our civilian leaders often come up with some crazy, stupid, and dangerous ideas. Foreign Policy has come up
Dubai’s Khaleej Times reports: “Afghan President Hamid Karzai has admitted that his chief of staff received ‘bags of money’ from Iran but insisted the payment was transparent and a form of aid from a friendly country. Cash payments ‘are done
An analysis of Al-Qaeda propaganda to Muslims around the world signifies a change in their strategy toward the United States. As MEMRI reports: “Al-Qaeda is striving to place the responsibility for jihad in America upon the Muslim community in the
If you want to see an example of a naive reporter trying to cover the horrors of a totalitarian state, look no further than this recent dispatch from AP reporter Jean Lee who ventures into North Korea. The report offers
President Obama and the Democrats are in for a thumping in the forthcoming mid-term elections. The economy is in rough shape and people and furious at Washington’s power grab from health care to finance. So what is Obama to do?
Germany’s influential Der Spiegel shows how delusional they are with an editorial about the decline of Obama in America. There is no attempt here to understand the Tea Party movement or what it represents. As usual, the European Left is
France is ablaze with violent protests, Greece is broke, and the British government is going to lay off half a million workers. Missed from the headlines is the biggest casualty in all of this: the death of the “European model.”
Germany’s influential Der Spiegel shows how delusional they are with an editorial about the decline of Obama in America. There is no attempt here to understand the Tea Party movement or what it represents. As usual, the European Left is
Our attention is largely focused half way around the world—Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and the Middle East. The threat from Islamist terrorism is real. But largely overlooked in my mind is the problem posed by a security threat next door, namely
More twisted logic at the NYT. Richard Barrett coordinator of the United Nations Al Qaeda-Taliban monitoring team (whatever that is) says that is time to sit down and chat with the Taliban. The reason? The Taliban leadership has been so
On Nov 9, 2001 a 30′ steel Angel created by artist Lei Hennessy-Owen of Delivering Angels was presented at Ground Zero in a fairly secret reception attended by the NYC Fire Riders, First Responders, NYPD, NYC Fire Department and 9/11
A fascinating article in The Diplomat argues that contrary to the public face of a stable and prospering China, the country has some serious internal problems. An excerpt: “But take a look inside the gates, beyond the headline economic figures,
Israel is consumed with controversy over new oath of allegiance laws that have just been passed by the Knesset. Lee Smith writing at Tablet Magazine offers some insightful analysis: “Sunday the Knesset voted to require an oath of allegiance be
Retired Brig. General Anthony Tata, a regular contributor to Big Peace, is one of the contestants in the Washington Post’s “America’s Next Great Pundit Contest.” (As far as I can tell, he appears to be the only conservative in the
The United States is not an empire in the traditional sense. We do not impose our will on nations and force them to host our military installations. But the size of America’s military presence around the world is truly enormous.
Perhaps the mullahs in Iran are finally feeling the squeeze. The World Policy Journal is reporting: “PARIS–At the end of September, the exchange rate of the rial on Iran’s black market registered a sudden depreciation against the dollar, going from
Green Beret Staff Sgt. Robert Miller, RIP, will receive the Medal of Honor shortly (1:45 EST) in the White House. His parents are accepting the award on his behalf. We all need to take a few moments to honor this
Perhaps we have. Or so argues Ilan Berman here. An excerpt: “With more than two-thirds of its budget and some 80 percent of its export earnings tied to its oil and natural gas sectors, Iran is the epitome of an
Here is a must read on the terrible state of the U.S. Air Force fleet. Excerpt: “In a September 2007 Capitol Hill speech, Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne warned that “the Air Force is going out of business
Give the Germans credit; they pay their debts. As the Daily Telegraph reports, this sunday the German government makes its final payment on reparations from the First World War. (They would have done it earlier, but Hitler stopped making payments.
A very compelling piece in the Guardian argues that we’ve entered the Brave New World of open cyberwarfare. An excerpt: “The memory sticks were scattered in a washroom at a US military base in the Middle East that was providing
Continuing our coverage of the Stuxnet cyber worm, the New York Times reports today: “Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran‘s race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference
Now here is an excellent piece on the trials of communist butchers in Cambodia who killed 1.5 million in that small country. This article needs to be read in full. A few choice excerpts: “Nazism’s trial took place in Nuremberg
We have been covering reports of a computer worm that is disrupting computers in Iran. The New York Times is now reporting: “Stuxnet, which was first publicly identified several months ago, is aimed solely at industrial equipment made by Siemens
Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo reports: “Cyber security expert say they have identified the world’s first known cyber super weapon designed specifically to destroy a real-world target – a factory, a refinery, or just maybe a nuclear power plant. The
My friend Marc Thiessen uncovered this gem in Tony Blair’s new memoir. President George W. Bush is at the G-8 summit with Tony Blair and they are listening to the prime minster of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, drone on about global
We generally don’t do book reviews at Big Peace. But every once in a while a book comes along that threatens to reset the foreign policy debate and demands coverage. The just released The Arab Lobby fits those specifications because
The official website of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea invites you to to an event that must not be missed! It’s the anniversary celebration of the founding of the the ruling Worker’s Party! “The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) organizes
From Abu Dhabi’s The National: “Last weekend, an Afghan friend who lives in Kabul was in Dubai for a short break to get away from the Taliban death threats which he has been receiving regularly ever since the leaked war
In an important article appearing today, military writer Jim Michaels writes: “For all the hype of today’s 24/7 instantaneous news, the media were consistently about six months behind important developments on the ground in Iraq. Newspaper readers in 1876 got
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The following ad as been released by the Rick Lazio campaign concerning the pending vote tomorrow (August 3) on the Ground Zero Mosque. It contains the phone number for the Landmarks Preservation Committee if you are interested in letting them
I imagine that the journalism profession has always attracted more than its fair share of people who are left of center. So in a way, the Journolist does not come as any great surprise. But what does stand out about
Dear Mr. Drezner, Thanks for responding. And I’m glad to see that your tone has changed. Of course it’s legitimate to ask questions about supporting evidence for stories we post on Big Peace. But to call Big Peace “unadulterated horses***t”?
Can Professor Daniel Drezner be serious? He launches a pathetic attack against Big Peace contributor Michael Moriarty, declaring that there is simply no evidence that George Soros is a guiding force in Obama’s foreign policy. Drezner takes a personal shot
Whether you listen to him or not, or consider yourself a fan or not, radio talk show host Michael Savage has been the victim of a grave injustice by the British government. He has literally been told that he cannot