
President Barack Obama will use the the five-year anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers–and the ensuing financial crisis–today to attempt yet another “pivot” to economic issues for what is, conservatively, the dozenth time. Amid the boilerplate remembrances of jobs
by Joel B. Pollak16 Sep 2013, 7:18 AM PST0

In foreign policy as in much else, President Barack Obama has relied on words rather than actions. So it is difficult to take seriously his threat, expressed in an interview Friday with ABC News that aired Sunday on This Week,
by Joel B. Pollak15 Sep 2013, 2:22 PM PST0

Former Secretary of the Treasure Lawrence Summers has officially withdrawn his name from contention for the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reports. Summers called President Barack Obama on Sunday to inform him of his withdrawal, and
by Joel B. Pollak15 Sep 2013, 1:53 PM PST0
I’ve wrestled with Andrew C. McCarthy’s writings on foreign policy since the start of the Arab Spring. I am one of those conservatives who agreed with George W. Bush’s articulation of human rights and democracy as the core values of
by Joel B. Pollak15 Sep 2013, 8:04 AM PST0

On Sunday’s edition of This Week, ABC News aired an interview conducted with President Barack Obama on Friday. Among other familiar Obama tropes–such as the threat not to negotiate with congressional leaders over the debt ceiling, which is odd considering
by Joel B. Pollak15 Sep 2013, 7:27 AM PST0
The bond between the United States and Israel is both deep and broad. Yet the geopolitical alliance took shape in earnest after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel’s military might convinced the U.S. of its value as an ally
by Joel B. Pollak13 Sep 2013, 1:04 PM PST0

A bill that would allow non-physicians to perform abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy is awaiting signature by Gov. Jerry Brown of California by Sep. 30. The bill, AB 154, passed both houses of the state legislature with strong
by Joel B. Pollak13 Sep 2013, 10:19 AM PST0
The attempt by Senate Democrats to define who is, and is not, a journalist is only the latest assault by the left on the First Amendment during the Obama era. From their attacks on free speech in opposition to the
by Joel B. Pollak13 Sep 2013, 7:15 AM PST0

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) distanced himself from his father Ron Paul’s controversial views on 9/11 yesterday, saying that some terrorists “are…motivated whether we’re there [in the Middle East] or not.” The elder Paul triggered outrage on Wednesday, the anniversary of
by Joel B. Pollak13 Sep 2013, 5:59 AM PST0

National Public Radio’s David Welna reported Thursday morning that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel groups had suffered defeat in efforts to lobby Congress to back a military attack against Syria. Though Welna cites some dubious sources,
by Joel B. Pollak12 Sep 2013, 7:47 AM PST0
Carl M. Cannon of RealClearPolitics devoted a column on the anniversary of 9/11 to the music that emerged to describe and deal with the terror attacks and their aftermath. At the time, I was living in South Africa and working
by Joel B. Pollak12 Sep 2013, 6:44 AM PST0

It is no surprise that former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul believes that the U.S. bears some responsibility, albeit indirect, for the terror attack of September 11, 2001. That belief, a staple of the far-left, animated his spoiler campaign
by Joel B. Pollak12 Sep 2013, 6:21 AM PST0

When the dust settles, the concrete result of the Syria debacle is that dictator Bashar al-Assad was able to use chemical weapons, both literally and diplomatically, to retain power. Assad succeeded because President Barack Obama was never really serious about
by Joel B. Pollak11 Sep 2013, 7:59 AM PST0

As Americans pause today to remember the trauma–and heroism–of September 11, 2001, we have a new reason to commemorate the day: the embassy attacks of September 11, 2012. A year later, there have been no arrests and no responses. Those
by Joel B. Pollak11 Sep 2013, 6:17 AM PST0

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), delivering a prepared rebuttal to President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on the Syria crisis Tuesday night, said that only opposition to war had made a diplomatic solution possible. It was the mirror image of
by Joel B. Pollak11 Sep 2013, 5:42 AM PST0

There was nothing more to say, and indeed President Barack Obama said nothing new to the nation on Syria on Tuesday night. What had once been billed as the closing argument for war on the eve of congressional votes to
by Joel B. Pollak10 Sep 2013, 6:43 PM PST0
Secretary of State John Kerry is trying to claim that his “goof” on Syria handing over its chemical weapons to international monitors was part of the plan all along, a claim that Fox News finds somewhat dubious. It’s the old
by Joel B. Pollak10 Sep 2013, 11:06 AM PST0

Yesterday, President Barack Obama was preparing to gird the nation for war against Syria. Today, he agreed to let the United Nations decide. Yesterday, UN Ambassador Samantha Power was dismissing the UN for its inaction. Today, the Obama administration is
by Joel B. Pollak10 Sep 2013, 9:03 AM PST0

The pro-Israel groups that agreed to lobby Congress on behalf of President Barack Obama’s plan for “limited” strikes against Syria over its chemical weapons use have been dealt a hard lesson after the president and his allies appeared to ditch
by Joel B. Pollak10 Sep 2013, 5:22 AM PST0

President Barack Obama switched gears Monday, embracing a Russian-backed proposal to have Syria transfer its chemical weapons stockpile to international control–an idea that emerged from a gaffe earlier in the day by Secretary of State John Kerry. The proposal may
by Joel B. Pollak10 Sep 2013, 5:03 AM PST0

There is only one possible good-faith reason that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), the National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC), and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) are lobbying Congress to approve President Barack Obama’s proposed
by Joel B. Pollak9 Sep 2013, 2:04 PM PST0

One of the few effective arguments that the Obama administration has used in support of military action in Syria is that it is important to deter other rogue states determined to acquire, and threatening to use, weapons of mass destruction.
by Joel B. Pollak9 Sep 2013, 11:34 AM PST0

In a strident exhortation to the New America Foundation on Monday, National Security Advisor Susan Rice reiterated President Barack Obama’s case for a “limited” military strike against Syria in response to alleged chemical weapons use by Bashar al-Assad’s forces. She
by Joel B. Pollak9 Sep 2013, 11:12 AM PST0

In an interview on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition on Monday, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, declined to say whether a U.S. strike on Syria would be legal without the approval of the UN. She was asked
by Joel B. Pollak9 Sep 2013, 8:30 AM PST0
It’s odd how President Barack Obama appears to be enlisting (or at least enjoying) the help of pro-Israel organizations to push for congressional approval for an attack on Syria, but his own group, Organizing for Action, doesn’t seem to be
by Joel B. Pollak8 Sep 2013, 8:09 PM PST0