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History and historiography matter. As Winston Churchill astutely said, “Everyone can recognize history when it happens. Everyone can recognize history after it has happened; but only the wise man knows at the moment what is vital and permanent, what is lasting and memorable.” Today, such sensitivity to the value of history is evaporating from the public consciousness. The willful blindness to the instructional value of the past is manifesting itself in attempts to erase history rather than reckon with it responsibly.
With the US Presidential election rapidly approaching, an assessment of US foreign policy is in order. The Trump administration has undertaken conceptual shifts that see China as an adversary and Russia as a fading power, and it has deprioritized the Middle East and Europe. Without robust diplomatic and military engagement, these new policies risk ceding those regions to Chinese domination. In contrast, evidence suggests a Biden administration would largely return to the policies of the Obama era that accommodated Chinese imperialism.
The American Left is intensely frustrated by President Donald Trump’s ability to penetrate their monopoly on the news cycle. When the Left is frustrated, it acts out, up to and past the point of violence. A powerful weapon at its disposal is its ability to silence its perceived enemies. Much of the mainstream US media, cowed by the Left, reflexively capitulates to its demands to “cancel” individuals who express opinions that go against Leftist orthodoxy.
Ancient Greece considered athletic ability both a measure of one’s value and a cure for social inequality. Athletics were seen as providing a form of moral education, with Plato advocating for the inclusion of women in sports for their moral enrichment and Aristotle calling physical movement an ethical duty. These are ideals after which Western Civilization still strives, but sports—along with all other cultural spheres—have become politicized.
The Trump peace plan tells the Palestinians that the sensible question is not whether a deal provides everything you think you are entitled to, but whether it is the best deal available. If their demands for “justice” include Israel’s destruction, it says, the United States will not support them and will not fight to preserve the status quo for their benefit. A notable feature of the plan is the warning that, if the Palestinians continue to reject peace unreasonably, the US will not block Israel from advancing its own claims to areas that, in the administration’s view, realistic peace talks would leave to Israel.
The state-controlled Chinese media enthusiastically covered the protests and rioting attending the George Floyd killing. It compared the American protests to the protests in Hong Kong and used the rioting and violence in the US as evidence that the democratic system is hypocritical and morally bankrupt.
The case of Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, accused of lying to the feds, was recently reopened by a new attorney. Though the appellate court has since upheld the Justice Department’s order to dismiss the case, the matter remains unresolved, and Flynn remains in danger. The effort to oust Flynn as NSA was a key aspect of a complex plot at the highest levels to overturn the election of President Donald Trump. The DOJ should turn its attention to the people who put Flynn in their sights.
The US is backing Kurdish unity talks as part of a policy centered around appeasing Turkey’s national security concerns about the PYD’s essential role in Syria. However, all signs indicate that Turkey sees this gesture as no more than a ruse to normalize its enemies. Only a more involved and active US foreign policy will cement any gains around a more stable and unified Kurdish presence.
Russia’s position is crucial in the unfolding US-China competition. There are two likely scenarios. In one, Russia is able to maneuver between the powers and score geopolitical goals in its neighborhood and in the Middle East. In the other, Russia is cast by the West as an outright enemy, leaving little room for compromise and allowing the country to fall further under Chinese influence.

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