Sooner or later, the United States and its Western allies are going to have to go into Syria with force, like it or not. There’s little choice.I’m not talking about retaliation for the apparent chemical-weapons attacks that killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more. The Syrians have committed a grave international crime ― and crossed President Obama’s “red line” once again. Some sort of response is warranted, even if only to show that the United States means what it says, and hencefor

WASHINGTON ― What does the world look like when people begin to doubt the credibility of American power? Unfortunately, we’re finding that out in Syria and other nations where leaders have concluded they can defy a war-weary America without paying a price. Using military power to maintain a nation’s credibility may sound like an antiquated idea, but it’s all too relevant in the real world we inhabit. It has become obvious in recent weeks that President Obama, whose restrained and realistic forei

LONDON ― The announcement, following the use of chemical weapons in Syria, of an emergency summit in Jordan this week of military leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar is a welcome development. Western policy is at a crossroads: commentary or action; shaping events or reacting to them.After the long and painful campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, I understand every impulse to stay clear of the turmoil, to watch but not

CLAREMONT, California ― As show trials go, the drama featuring Bo Xilai, the once-swaggering, media-savvy former Chinese Communist Party chief of Chongqing, veered anomalously into improvisation. Before the proceedings began, the conventional wisdom was that Bo’s trial had been carefully scripted and rehearsed to portray a forlorn and penitent sinner confessing his crimes and apologizing to the party.But the historic five-day trial dispelled any notion that Bo would go quietly to his cell in Bei

Recently, I came across an interesting article in Time magazine titled “The Me Me Me Generation.” The article points out that millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000, often have symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. For example, young people frequently upload pictures of themselves onto social media sites for their “followers” to praise. In addition, these young people are so confident in themselves that they believe they are entitled to virtually everything. The Time article high