Source: Liberal Currents
by Guillaume AW Attia

“China may well become the singular Olympus that all mere mortals look up to, but so long as this Olympus is home to Ogres it will struggle to compel the allegiance of the wider world.” (12/18/25)

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/china-between-ogre-and-olympus/

Source: The American Conservative
by Doug Bandow

“As a nation of immigrants, the United States long has dealt with the phenomenon of ‘hyphenated Americans,’ people who retained some affection and even loyalty to their ancestral homeland. This phenomenon wasn’t much of a problem in the 19th century, since Washington generally avoided overseas misadventures. The Mexican–American War and Spanish–American War reflected imperialist expansion rather than ancestral politics. However, that changed with World War I, when one-third of Americans had at least one foreign-born parent, mostly from Europe. As the conflict raged, Theodore Roosevelt insisted that real Americans could only support the U.S. … That Sen. [Andy] Kim presumably feels affection for his parents’ birthplace is unexceptional. … However, so-called hyphenated Americans should abandon the interests of the old world even as they celebrate continuing family and cultural ties. Legislators, especially, should leave their ethnic backgrounds outside the Capitol when they vote.” (12/18/25)

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-distorting-impact-of-hyphenated-americans-on-korea-policy/

Source: Responsible Statecraft
by James R Webb

“As the Trump Administration continues to kill so-called Venezuelan ‘narco terrorists’ through ‘non-international armed conflict’ (whatever that means), it is clear it is doing so without Congressional authorization and in defiance of international law. Perhaps worse, through these actions, the administration is demonstrating wanton disregard for centuries of Western battlefield precedent, customs, and traditions that righteously seek to preserve as many lives during war as possible. Continuing down this path will not only be a stain on our national honor that will spread like spilled ink, but will also ensure reciprocal treatment of our troops.” (12/18/25)

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/second-strike-hegseth-narco/

Source: Fox News
by Roger I Zakheim

“President Donald Trump’s newly released National Security Strategy breaks the mold of White House strategy documents being a product of an elite policy consensus. From the outset, the document declares that America’s foreign-policy establishment ‘went astray’, overextending the nation abroad and ignoring the wishes and instincts of ordinary citizens. The document presents its ‘America First’ approach as a strategy grounded in the will of We the People. Conveniently, we now have a clear picture of what the American people actually think when it comes to our most pressing national security challenges. Our Reagan National Defense Survey, released just days before the strategy, offers one of the clearest assessments of public attitudes toward national defense, foreign policy, allies and adversaries.” (12/18/25)

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/america-first-security-strategy-through-eyes-we-people