For 350 years the basic political building-block has been the nation-state. The nation-state evolved in the mid-17th century from a bargain between the people (the nation) and governments (the state) that, in return for their loyalty, the state would protect the...

As three new combat brigades embark, there are some questions to contemplate:

1.  After eight years of U.S. military protection, why have Afghan men not stepped up to protect their wives and children, their communities, and their nation?

2. ...

As in many things, American citizens cannot decide whether they want to vote for followers or leaders.  While decrying the lack of leadership in America, they punish elected officials who take unpopular but forward looking stands by turning them...

Having chosen many years ago to live in the foothills of Colorado, and to have the opportunity to protect some unspoiled property, Thanksgiving time is always a reminder of the unique blessings of nature. Elk and deer, red, grey, and black foxes, coyotes, an occasional rare bobcat, and the silent...

Almost 2500 years ago Pericles, in his ageless funeral oration, praised men who were worthy of the city and declared those who took no interest in the well-being of Athens to be “useless.”  Many of my generation consider John Kennedy’s...

In his speech to Congress on September 20, 2001, President George W. Bush made a series of demands on the Taliban government in Kabul, Afghanistan.  He insisted that: al Qaeda leaders be turned over to the U.S.; all imprisoned foreign...

A large number of options are now available to the United States in developing a 21st century security strategy.  No single strategy will suffice so long as global conditions continue to evolve rapidly and conditions are subject to virtual overnight change. ...

The United States needs a new statutory basis for its national security strategy in this new century.  The Cold War national security state was established by the National Security Act of 1947.  It unified the Army and Navy, and the Marine...

Political journalists, especially, tend to describe all elected officials as “politicians.”  That is not necessarily incorrect.  They operate in the political sphere, engage in political discourse, and attempt to achieve, or block, certain political objectives.  But the word also is...

An earlier comment questioned my use of the word commonwealth as describing all those things Americans hold together—our public lands and resources, our defenses, our air and water, our government, and the list is long.  A commonwealth is described as...

We do not have to wait for the final resolution of the American military presence in Afghanistan to begin to see what, if anything, we have learned from our checkered experience there.

Very soon President Obama will announce a new...

For many years the United States has been the de facto guarantor of world oil supplies.  We maintain one and more recently two aircraft carrier task groups in the Indian Ocean and...

Politicians almost always dwell near the bottom of polls reflecting public respect. Yet, almost always, Americans who vote do so for one politician or another. That's because they are almost never given a choice.

Let's agree that a politician is an elected official who wants to make...

A good deal of attention is being given recently to the notion of creating networks among sovereign governments.  This basically involves linking government functions of a number of governments to make the performance of each of them more...

A post-Cold War mystery prevails.  Why, almost twenty years after the end of the Cold War, are there still so many members of the U.S. foreign policy community (often called foreign policy elites) who seem instinctively to dislike...

As a nation that has largely valued laissez faire in its markets and independence for individual citizens, the United States has generally resisted strategic approaches to domestic matters or grand strategies for its role in the world.  Strategy suggests planning,...

Posted from Senator Hart's new blog at Matters of Principle.

This little-noticed phrase in the Preamble to our Constitution has profound significance for laws and governing.  If...

Posted from Senator Hart's new blog at Matters of Principle.

Thus, our salute to the flag of the United States identifies us as a republic. Not enough Americans, including...

Posted from Senator Hart's new blog at Matters of Principle.

Not too long ago, issues came in boxes.  There was a health box, an education box, an economy box,...