Articles by James Carafano

EconomyCommentary

The CIA’s Twitter Is Not #Winning

James Carafano | July 26, 2014

Carl Colby grew up in a family where no one talked about what dad did. Even family outings were mysterious. “We’d go somewhere — family… Read More

InternationalCommentary

Q&A: What’s Happening in Israel And Palestine? What Should the U.S. Do?

James Carafano | July 23, 2014

“[Israel] also realize that they’re in the middle of a war of ideas, a propaganda war, and that Hamas uses everything possible to try to… Read More

InternationalCommentary

10 Ways the U.S. Should Respond to Russia’s Role in Plane Crash

James Carafano | July 22, 2014

Evidence is mounting that Russian-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine were responsible for the shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane, with the loss of 298… Read More

SecurityCommentary

That One Time the Obama Administration Used Diplomacy Well

James Carafano | July 20, 2014

File it under “things you don’t see very often.” A press release from Republican Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, declaring, “I… Read More

SocietyCommentary

Obama Must Enforce Current Laws to Solve Border Crisis

James Carafano | July 20, 2014

It became her mantra. The U.S. border with Mexico, Janet Napolitano would say, “has never been more secure.” First uttered in 2010 during Congressional testimony,… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Only Russia Can Make Peace With Ukraine

James Carafano | July 19, 2014

Yesterday, hundreds of innocents from all over the world lost their lives in the skies over Ukraine.  This horrible tragedy is a clear reminder of… Read More

InternationalCommentary

Iran’s Deal or No Deal

James Carafano | July 18, 2014

If they are taking odds in Vegas, bet on not getting a P5+1 deal with Iran over its nuclear program. The sides have an option… Read More

InternationalCommentary

Hamas’s Last Stand

James Carafano | July 17, 2014

USA Today reports that “[t]he Israeli military announced a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip late Thursday after 10 days of fighting between Israel and… Read More

SocietyCommentary

Is Sending the Military to the Border a Good Idea?

James Carafano | July 16, 2014

James Carafano is a 25-year Army veteran, a graduate of and former professor at West Point, and a leading expert on military strategy, including border… Read More

SocietyCommentary

First Five Steps to Solving Southern Border Crisis

James Carafano | July 16, 2014

Putting aside politics is the key to stabilizing the US-Southern border with Mexico. There are key national interests at stake. In addition to concerns over… Read More

InternationalCommentary

The U.S. Must Do Everything Possible to Undermine Hamas

James Carafano | July 15, 2014

Hamas starts wars it knows it can’t finish. It also knows full well that wars in a very small place put innocents at risk. And… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Our Politicians Keep Surrendering U.S. Independence to Other Nations

James Carafano | July 12, 2014

Four weeks after D-Day, having fought fiercely for 28 consecutive days, American troops were still within eyeshot of the Normandy coast. They were already short… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Obama Isn’t Prepared to Face Security Challenges

James Carafano | July 06, 2014

Flip through the latest National Security Strategy and the Pentagon‘s Quadrennial Defense Review — these are the documents describing how President Obama envisions using foreign… Read More

SecurityCommentary

The U.S. Needs to Stop the ISIS Pipeline

James Carafano | July 05, 2014

Foreign fighters—outsiders recruited or who volunteer to fight in another country for somebody else’s cause—are nothing new. What’s new is that they have become a… Read More

SecurityCommentary

When Will ISIS Start to Lose?

James Carafano | July 01, 2014

Where will the Islamist rampage that is storming across Iraq stop? There is no easy answer to that question. Carl von Clausewitz, the great 19th… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Compromising With Iran Is Not the Answer

James Carafano | June 29, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry recently floated a mind-numbing idea: to help turn back ISIS, the Islamic terrorist group that has seized control of more… Read More

SocietyCommentary

How Amnesty Talk Makes the Illegal Immigration Situation Worse

James Carafano | June 28, 2014

Tony Snow was dying. But the White House press secretary, still determined to serve his president, returned to work as long as his cancer was… Read More

SocietyCommentary

Remembering Howard Baker

James Carafano | June 27, 2014

Howard Baker, who died this week at the age of 88, is being remembered as a great American statesman who gave a lifetime of service to the… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Ex-Im Bank Isn’t Necessary for National Security

James Carafano | June 26, 2014

Who needs that Export-Import Bank? There is healthy debate going on in Washington. The side that wants Washington to agree to extend the bank charter… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Three Frightening Facts About Iraq

James Carafano | June 24, 2014

What is going in Iraq has nothing to do with American politics. The enemies of America don’t care if the West Wing is run by… Read More

SecurityCommentary

You Can’t Use the Military to Solve Every Government Problem

James Carafano | June 21, 2014

“What’s the point of having this superb military that you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?” —Madeline Albright, 1993, as she argued for… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Obama Is Dodging Tough Questions About Exchange for Bergdahl Release

James Carafano | June 14, 2014

He was MIA. His family could only pray they would ever see him again. On Aug. 13, 1944, U.S. Army Pfc. Lawrence S. Gordon disappeared… Read More

SecurityCommentary

There’s an Intelligence Crisis at the White House

James Carafano | June 08, 2014

With U.S. foreign policy in the doldrums on every front, President Obama’s handlers decided it was time for action. And, so he jetted to Afghanistan… Read More

SecurityCommentary

You Won’t Believe Who America’s Greatest Enemy Is

James Carafano | June 07, 2014

President Obama’s West Point speech proved telling in ways he probably didn’t plan. The commander-in-chief tried to use the commencement address to quell concerns over… Read More

 SecurityCommentary

Heroism in Air, on Land, and by Sea

James Carafano | June 06, 2014

June 6 marks the 70th anniversary of the battle for the beginning of the end of a Nazi-dominated Europe. In the annals of history, the… Read More

SecurityCommentary

How Obama Should Have Handled Benghazi

James Carafano | June 03, 2014

President Obama had a perfect model for how to respond to the scandal in the wake of the terrorist attack on the U.S. consulate in… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Why D-Day Matters

James Carafano | June 01, 2014

“I’ll bet they’re asleep in New York,” muses Rick in “Casablanca” as he realizes there’s no sitting this war out. “I’ll bet they’re asleep all… Read More

SecurityAnalysis

America’s Veterans Deserve Better: 5 Priorities to Fix VA

James Carafano | May 30, 2014

All Washington is speculating on when—not if—U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki will have to step down. And once that happens, all the chatter… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Worth Dying For

James Carafano | May 26, 2014

For myself and many other veterans, Memorial Day is encapsulated in one unforgettable experience. That moment for me was while I was still in uniform… Read More

SecurityCommentary

Time for Germany to Step Up on the World Stage

James Carafano | May 24, 2014

“I’d rather have a German division in front of me than a French division behind me.” So quipped Gen. George “Blood & Guts” Patton. The… Read More