The War on Drugs continues, four decades after President Richard Nixon commenced hostilities. President Barack Obama--the third president in a row to have used illicit substances in his youth--is no drug warrior. However, he seems unlikely to challenge the disastrous new prohibition.

The president has, however, ended the...

I have a confession to make. I recently bid on a bronze bust of Lavrenti Beria on eBay. He was Joseph Stalin's last secret police chief. Alas, someone outbid me.

But at a Chelsea flea market in New York City last weekend I did purchase a World War I German...

Candidate Barack Obama was widely seen as running on a peace platform. More recently President Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for supposedly offering a new international approach. Yet he is considering a major military escalation in Afghanistan.

Instead, the president should rethink Washington's objective. The...

President Barack Obama was elected proposing to do what most every other modern presidential candidate proposes doing: more.

His international agenda involves the standard litany. The U.S. must strengthen alliances, browbeat adversaries, resolve crises, ameliorate conflicts, protect friends, negotiate agreements, deter wars, combat disease, promote prosperity,...

In today's globalized world, dictatorships have an ever harder time hiding their repressive practices. Just witness the tragedy of Iran carried out in front of the world's eyes. The list of oppressors is long: North Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Burma, Sudan, Cuba, and the Central Asian countries are among...

A political earthquake hit Tokyo on Sunday. The Democratic Party of Japan ousted the Liberal Democratic Party, which has held power for all but 11 months of the last 54 years.

Exactly how policy will change is uncertain: The DPJ is a fractious coalition, ranging from socialist pacifist to...

You need 1900 guards for your embassy more than six years after the invasion. Reports the Washington Post:

The U.S. Embassy has 88 special agents who supervise about 1,300 security contractors and 1,900 perimeter guards. The Iraqi government is expanding access to the Green Zone, where the embassy is...

Attorney General Eric Holder is appointing a special prosecutor to review CIA interrogations of terrorist suspects. However, the investigation shouldn't stop at the agency. No one should be above the law, especially top policymakers.

Investigating Bush administration policies and officials is bound to be controversial. President George W. Bush and...

Two North Korean diplomats flew to Santa Fe, New Mexico to meet with Gov. Bill Richardson--who as UN Ambassador negotiated with Pyongyang under President Bill Clinton. Although supposedly visiting to discuss energy issues (Gov. Richardson also served as one of President Clinton's energy secretaries), the North Koreans proclaimed their desire...

Given a list of 18 potential enemies of the U.S., a majority of the American population rated only North Korea and Iran as adversaries. Other nations, ranging from Venezuela to China, came in far behind.

If the American people are right, what explains today's military budget?

The U.S. traditionally pursued...