Overview for News

More Reax

Jennifer Rubin at Commentar y: I wonder what the president was hoping to accomplish. Who is his audience and what was his message? He seemed desperately to want to stop the recriminations (and who wouldn’t after a month of watching his party being beaten about the ears?) but he has no …

Written by David Frum on Thursday May 21, 2009

Sanity Prevails In California

If you’re curious about what happened in California ’s special election last night, when voters roundly rejected a complex series of propositions aimed at extending taxes, borrowing, and spending, look no further than Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, chairwoman of the State Assembly …

Written by Michael Rosen on Wednesday May 20, 2009

Is Britain On The Verge Of A Constitutional Crisis?

The resignation of the Speaker of the British House of Commons over the expenses scandal caught American attention for about 10 seconds. It deserves more. British friends are speculating that the country may be about to experience a collapse of support for all parties, as happened in Italy in the …

Written by David Frum on Wednesday May 20, 2009

Bloggingheads

Ellen Laipson of the Stimson Center and I discuss Afghanistan, Pakistan, and President Obama's upcoming speech to the Islamic world on Bloggingheads.TV . We find common ground in our admiration for Henry Stimson!

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 19, 2009

Congressman Jim Moran: Mr. Responsibility

In the event that terrorists housed at Guantanamo Bay are transferred to the United States for trial, the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia – the location of Zacarias Moussaoui’s trial and John Walker Lindh’s plea – could well be their destination. …

Written by Henry Clay on Tuesday May 19, 2009

David Frum On Adrian Goldsworthys "how Rome Fell"

For those readers planning an ambitious summer reading program, I offer over in the Bookshelf a guide to some important recent new books on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire , all together masquerading as a review of Adrian Goldsworthy's new book, How Rome Fell .

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 19, 2009

The Obama Administration Does Something Right?

I'm waiting for Mark Krikorian to tell me what the catch is, but on the face of it, this sounds like good news: The Obama administration is expanding a program initiated by President George W. Bush aimed at checking the immigration status of virtually every person booked into local jails. In …

Written by David Frum on Tuesday May 19, 2009

German Intellectuals Warn The Arab League Against The Jewish Lobby

On Saturday, the German daily Die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) published an interview with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa on the current prospects for Middle East peace negotiations. Among other things, Moussa observes that peace with a Netanyahu government is “of …

Written by John Rosenthal on Monday May 18, 2009

Why Conrad Won

It is a stunning victory for Conrad Black. Probably the only people who seriously thought the U.S. Supreme Court would hear the appeal of his 2007 conviction in a Chicago court, were his immediate friends – and even they had doubts. And yet the Supremes have agreed to hear …

Written by Peter Worthington on Monday May 18, 2009

Supreme Court Accepts Conrad Blacks Appeal!

The BBC has the glad news . More details here .

Written by David Frum on Monday May 18, 2009

The Dangers Of A Presidential Speech To The Muslim World

... was the topic of my column in Saturday's National Post , reproduced below. Barack Obama made an unwise commitment during his campaign. Actually he made quite a number of them, but this column will have to settle for dealing with just one: Candidate Obama promised to deliver a …

Written by David Frum on Monday May 18, 2009

Cuts Endanger Americas Nuclear Arsenal

In early May 2009, the Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, led by former Secretaries of Defense William Perry and James Schlesinger issued their report on nuclear strategy and counter-proliferation measures. While reports from government commissions are frequently …

Written by Peter Huessy on Monday May 18, 2009

Obama: Friends Of Israel Better Read The Fine Print

My friend Noah Pollak expresses relief in the Commentary blog that President Obama has endorse[d] the idea that the Iranian program poses an existential threat to Israel .... Not so fast. That's not what the president said. He said : I understand very clearly that Israel considers …

Written by David Frum on Monday May 18, 2009

Huntsman Adviser: Gop In Danger Of A "blowout" In 2012

Byron York talks to John Weaver, one of the consultants who had been advising John Huntsman, about the campaign-that-didn't happen: "He [Huntsman] had not made a decision to run for president, but he had made a decision to prepare to run," says Weaver. "We were probably a month away from …

Written by David Frum on Monday May 18, 2009

Could Mitch Daniels be "The One"?

Indiana’s Republican governor Mitch Daniels won reelection last year with 58% of the vote even as Democrat Barack Obama captured the Hoosier State with 50% of the presidential ballots. Such success distinguishes the former Dick Lugar staffer, Office of Management and Budget Director, and …

Written by John David Dyche on Sunday May 17, 2009

The Man Who Saved The Everglades

Lefty politicians and left-leaning enviros have a natural inclination towards top-down bureaucratic solutions when it comes to solving environmental problems. Sometimes, there is no practical alternative, but more often than not, it means throwing a lot of taxpayer dollars at a problem with …

Written by Jim DiPeso on Sunday May 17, 2009

Kiss Another Reformist Goodbye

Jon Huntsman will resign as governor of Utah to accept a posting as ambassador to China. It's a fine appointment from the point of view of the national interests of the United States. Huntsman speaks the language and knows the region (he previously served as ambassador to Singapore). His …

Written by David Frum on Saturday May 16, 2009

Health-care Hardball

Is the White House being too clever by half with its hardball tactics on health-care reform? “The Chicago approach to governing” is what Republican senator Judd Gregg calls the White House’s tactics on health-care reform: “You’re talking about running over …

Written by David Gratzer on Friday May 15, 2009

Cia To Pelosi: You're Lying

Nancy Pelosi claims the CIA lied to her. The truth is: Nancy Pelosi was derelict in her duty. FrumForum.com has viewed detailed documents showing Congressional briefings that completely support the CIA’s position that members of Congress knew about and were briefed continuously on the …

Written by Elise Cooper on Friday May 15, 2009

Lawfare: How Radical Islam Seeks To Silence Its Critics

Lawfare is traditionally defined as the use of the law as a weapon of war, or the pursuit of strategic aims through aggressive legal maneuvers. Over the past ten years, we have seen a steady increase in lawfare tactics directly targeting the human rights of North American and European civilians …

Written by Aaron Eitan Meyer on Thursday May 14, 2009