James Jay Carafano is a defense and national security expert at The Heritage Foundation, where he currently is special counselor to the president, the E.W. Richardson fellow for international engagement, and chairman of the Combating Antisemitism Task Force. Read his research.
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When it comes to how the Pentagon buys new stuff, everyone’s a critic. The zeal for reform rivals that of Carrie Nation when she first… Read More
SecurityCommentary
At the annual Defense Forum at the Reagan Presidential Library, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a much-publicized speech last Saturday about how to make sure… Read More
SecurityNews
Making defense operations more efficient is a natural common cause for Congress and the Pentagon. Increased efficiency would save money—freeing up dollars that the Pentagon… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Breaking news! The fate of the world doesn’t hang on the outcome of an American midterm election. The make-up of the new Congress might make… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Before the arms race with the Soviet Union came the hiring race among U.S. military bureaucracies. It started not long after the National Security Act… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Yesterday, a Canadian soldier fell in the service of his country. He didn’t die on some far-off battlefield. A cowardly murderer shot him down as… Read More
Health CareCommentary
The White House has declared Ebola to be a top national-security concern. That ought to worry Americans. The last time a president tried to make… Read More
SocietyCommentary
The first rule for managing a crisis? Act like a grown-up. Looking and really acting like an effective leader in tough times is job one…. Read More
Health CareCommentary
Concerns over the U.S. response to Ebola heightened when medical officials confirmed that a second individual involved with delivering treatment to the original Ebola patient… Read More
Health CareCommentary
A second case of Ebola has Americans rightly scratching their heads. Does our government really know what it’s doing? From the way the U.S. government… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Here is a prediction: The defense budget will get a cash Band-Aid in 2016. Washington may be about to experience one of those rare moments… Read More
SecurityCommentary
It’s only natural, with reports of terrorist groups such as the Islamic State filling the news, for Americans to question just how safe they are… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The U.S. military has officially begun airstrikes against terrorist targets inside Syria. It would be nice to think that this represents a different Obama and… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Replaying the video of President Bush’s 2007 warning against a premature withdrawal U.S. troops from Iraq is all the rage. Millions of Americans have “gone… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Of late, Hollywood has given us all kinds of movies about the military. The worst of them—such as “Green Zone,” a dreadful 2010 film that… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Today Texas Sheriff Gary Painter warned about the possibility that ISIS terrorists could cross the Texas-Mexico border. Painter told Fox News that close to the… Read More
EconomyCommentary
Two weeks ago, President Obama took time out from his vacation to speak to the American people. Oddly, he didn’t talk about ISIS, Ukraine, the Islamist… Read More
SecurityCommentary
“I’d bet they’re asleep in New York. I’d bet they’re asleep all over America,” bemoans Rick the saloonkeeper in the classic 1942 film “Casablanca.” As… Read More
InternationalCommentary
Not a day off since Christmas. The president deserved a real vacation — to sit on the newly screened back porch, daydream for an afternoon,… Read More
SocietyCommentary
Is it possible to have a debate on border security and immigration reform that doesn’t descend into an unproductive shouting match? Yes. I’ve been involved… Read More
SecurityCommentary
ISIS knows exactly what President Obama is going to do. That’s the real problem.
SecurityCommentary
1. Should the U.S. bomb ISIS targets in Syria? It depends. Never take the decision to put U.S. troops in harm’s way lightly. First, there ought… Read More
SecurityCommentary
The best way to start winning a war is to stop losing. That axiom certainly applies to what’s going on in Iraq. But, that said,… Read More
InternationalCommentary
In the last few days, the administration has made tentative steps to address the crisis in Iraq. After threatening not to release his hold on… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Today, Hollywood is full of fictional heroes. Yet only a few of the many that have stormed screen sets have ever done much to give… Read More
InternationalCommentary
According to news reports, Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki has ordered Iraqi military forces to seize government buildings.The move comes in the wake of an… Read More
SecurityCommentary
Jimmy Carter has had a long-standing reputation as authoring the most ineffective foreign policy of any modern presidency. To be honest, Carter deserves better. When… Read More
SocietyCommentary
On Fox News, conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer rightly took President Obama to task for his tragic mismanagement of border security and immigration reform. With the… Read More
InternationalCommentary
“[Obama] has some real opportunities here. Hamas has just been crushed. Egypt’s been a power broker here. He has a unique opportunity in this situation… Read More
SocietyCommentary
On Dec. 23, 2008, President George W. Bush signed the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act into law. White House Deputy Press Secretary Tony… Read More
