The Washington Times

In the Middle East, the temptation is to ignore the first rule of politics: You begin where you are. This is not Lebanon in 1982, Ariel Sharon versus Yasser Arafat, all over again. Nor is it 1967, 1948 – nor, for that matter, 715, when the al Aksa mosque was completed in Jerusalem, nor 561 B.C., when the Second Temple was erected. Trying to tease out the meaning of the current violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from thousands of years of strife may be an interesting exercise, but it is not going to get anybody anywhere.

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The Washington Times

I had a chance to take the temperature of the trans-Atlantic relationship at a non-governmental meeting here of a group of 50 or so mid-career Europeans and Americans, who are heavily engaged in one way or another in foreign affairs in their respective homes. It is, generally speaking, a very Atlanticist group, one committed to making U.S.-European relations work. If you’re looking for European anti-American sentiment, which has indeed been an increasing amount in certain elite circles, this is not your crowd.

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The Washington Times

Last week in this space, I explained what I take to be the sources of the current Democratic Party predicament. For starters, there’s the wartime popularity of George W. Bush and its spillover on Republicans in general. Next there’s the change in the “issue environment,” the things voters say are most important to them, away from such domestic issues as health care and the environment and in the direction of national security, where the GOP does well; in addition, the GOP has made inroads in a couple of areas of Democratic strength, especially education. Third, the GOP “brand” with voters is no longer that of the congressional firebrands Democrats so effectively used as a foil. Fourth, there is no clear path to a mutually satisfactory compromise in the longstanding Democratic divide between centrist “New Democrats” and the party’s progressive wing. Finally, Republicans have effectively targeted Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who is also not getting the stand-up support he needs from within his party to be truly effective as opposition leader.

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The Washington Times

Ordinarily, when you start running out the clock on offense and playing a “prevent” defense, you’re ahead. Democrats’ innovation in wartime Washington seems to be to adopt these tactics while behind.

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The Washington Times

The craggy wall of rock rises 120 meters above the curving bed of a gently babbling stream in the Carpathian mountains. The face is in places so steep as to incline past the vertical. Mainly, though, it is massive and it is high. If you drove by it on the narrow, unpaved road that runs parallel to the stream, especially in the light spring snow that is falling, you might think it beautiful scenery.

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