Paul Heroux

Misguided Narratives

There are two competing narratives on how to deal with Iran. But the idea that there are only two narratives or options is misguided.

The first dominant option claims that since Iran can't be trusted, they must be producing nuclear weapons and therefore if they...

Pounding the War Drums

Anyone who declares that Iran must not enrich any uranium is on a war path (or least a path to military strikes on Iran and some degree of retaliation from Iran). The question if this is right or wrong is another issue.

Iran has said categorically...

Close to Home

Prescription drug abuse and addiction is prevalent in America yet it lurks in the shadows. We don't like to talk about it because of the stigma associated with it. But if you are still reading this, you probably know someone close to you it has affected. This...

Republicans and Democrats are so firmly convinced that their ideas are in the best interest of the people they claim to serve. However, the ideas they push serve their party ideology more than the people. This is because there is no one right solution that applies to all conditions.

In any crisis, an examination of both sides is important. No nation can blindly go forward successfully without considering the point of view of its adversary.

Much has been written about the American and Israel point of view regarding Iran's nuclear program, so there is no need to address...

This week the Supreme Court will decide on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act of 2009 (aka Obamacare). This may be President Obama's primary legislative achievement.

Conventional wisdom says that if the SCOTUS strikes down the mandate, it will be a blow...

The aftermath of the war in Iraq has resulted in a more cautious approach to U.S. military engagements overseas. No longer do Americans think that the U.S. can or should become involved in military operations overseas unless our national security is directly at risk. Even then, there is ample room...

The question is, since U.S. troops have recently unintentionally burned Qurans, intentionally urinated on dead Taliban Afghans, and maliciously murdered 16 Afghan citizens by solider acting out of the chain of command, are we doing ourselves more harm than good by being there? Afghanistan's...

A lot of attention has been focused on Iran in recent months but we must not lose sight of the other potential threat from the region -- Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the most important countries to U.S. security and foreign interests. It borders Iran, China, Afghanistan and India....

This is a very critical time with the Iranian nuclear program. The threat is growing but it is not imminent. Yet, it is becoming increasingly clear that Israel will strike Iran's nuclear facilities in 2012. While Israel has the right to self defense if it can prove its security is...

Israel may stand to benefit from the recent turmoil in Iran and Syria.

When we consider that Bashar al Assad is unlikely to stay in power for very long, the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah may lose their enabler. Combined with that, Iran would lose its biggest ally in the...

The current stand-off with Iran should be called "Middle East WMD 2.0." No one knows Iran's true intentions.

There is little concern with the outcome that Iran is not pursuing a weapons program and the West does nothing -- this is the right course of action. Nor is there too...

Tuesday's revelation by the U.S. that Iran is looking to sponsor terror attacks inside the US comes on the heels of Iran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and curtail oil sales to various member nations of the EU, which also comes on the heels of new U.S. and...

In what may perhaps be one of the most outrageous comments about resolving the Iranian nuclear standoff, presidential hopeful Rick Santorum said that he would bomb Iran's nuclear facilities if they do not open up for IAEA inspectors.

Is this prudent or foolish?

Missing from this equation...

War is said to be the result of political failure.

The tense standoff with Iran is heating up again since Iran has threatened to shut down the 34-mile-wide Strait of Hormuz. 15 million barrels of oil are shipped through the Strait every day, which makes up about 1/3 of the...

Recidivism is a perennial problem in Philadelphia. Making this problem worse, is a deficit of facts about recidivism. Recidivism is a subset of reincarceration. Reincarceration means that someone is suspected to have committed a crime (or did a technical violation of parole), whereas recidivism typically means that someone has been...

The Keystone XL pipeline addition to the
Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act (AKA: the payroll tax cut Bill) is a contentious issue not because it is unrelated to jobs, but because it is hard to trust Republican motives.

Extending the payroll tax cut...

What causes terrorism? This is more than just an academic question. It has become an important part of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul's foreign policy position.

How 'cause' is defined is very important. If the use of the word 'cause' compels something, U.S. policy in the Middle...

Terrorism by its very definition is an illegal act of violence to scare, intimidate or harm others for political purposes. Because it has a political element, policy certainly has a role. GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul is right in that there is a conscious political motive, but he...

The cost of gas at the pump has decreased dramatically in recent weeks. As we go into the Christmas season that is a small comfort to people who are going to travel to be with family. However, this could change very quickly.

According to presidential candidate Michele Bachmann,...