Clifford D. May
Columns by Clifford D. May
The Battle of Afghanistan and the contest of wills
Afghanistan is often said to be America's longest war, but that's imprecise. Afghanistan is the longest battle in what some of us insist on calling The Long War. When did the conflict begin? Published April 23, 2019
Socialist eras and errors
Socialism is cool again, thanks not least to septuagenarian Sen. Bernie Sanders and millennial Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (aka AOC). Socialism has been cool before, of course, notably during the Great Depression and what became known as the Sixties, the era of Vietnam, the civil rights movement, hippies and the (old) New Left. Published April 16, 2019
Trump’s clear view of the Golan Heights
The Middle East is vast and, within it, Israel is no more than a speck, a shard, a sliver clinging to the easternmost shore of the Mediterranean Sea. At present, it is the only nation in the region that is free and democratic, with rights guaranteed to all its citizens, including its significant Arab and Muslim minorities. Saying that will make some people angry, but it's a fact. Published April 9, 2019
The European Union’s quarrel over immigration intensifies
Most people want to survive. What could be more natural than that? Most peoples want to survive, too. That's no less natural. Published April 2, 2019
Why Kim Jong-un must feel ‘maximum pressure’
It was worth a try. For decades, one administration after another, Republican and Democratic alike, failed to successfully address the metastasizing threat posed by the dictatorship that rules North Korea. So President Trump took a different tack: He played Mr. Nice Guy. He twice trekked to Asia to meet with Kim Jong-un, the country's mass-murdering young despot. He flattered, sweet-talked and — apparently, at least — befriended him. Published March 19, 2019
Hating Jewish people is as old as Judean Hills, remarkably diverse
A freshman member of Congress openly espouses bigotry toward Jews and Israel. Her fellow Democrats, with only a few exceptions, fail to forcefully condemn her words and views. Troubling to be sure, but let's remember: This gnarly tree grows in an old, luxuriant and global forest. Published March 12, 2019
Things we know that aren’t so
It's been observed — and variously attributed to Mark Twain, Will Rogers and Ronald Reagan, among others — that what gets us into trouble is not what we don't know, but what we know that isn't so. Published March 5, 2019
In Syria, Trump is steering between isolationism and interventionism
Precipitously and with no plan in place, President Trump late last year announced his intention to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria. Published February 26, 2019
An Arab-Israeli talk-fest for peace
In Warsaw last week, the Trump administration convened a conference on peace and security in the Middle East. The two-day ministerial did not change the world. But it did highlight significant ways in which the world has changed. Published February 19, 2019
Trump’s State of the Union speech was a personal best but with one Obamanian slip
Last week's State of the Union — widely predicted to be a boring laundry list better mailed to Congress than recited with pomp and circumstance in the grand chamber of the House of Representatives — turned out to be quite the blockbuster. Published February 12, 2019
Democracies die in daylight
"Democracy is difficult — perhaps the most difficult to operate and preserve of all known forms of government." Bernard Lewis, the late, great scholar and historian, offered that observation more than a quarter century ago. Published February 5, 2019
New Irish legislation threatens Israelis, Palestinians and the Irish economy
Last Sunday was Holocaust Remembrance Day and, in America and Europe, people are working hard to put an end to anti-Semitism. They can look forward to permanent employment. Anti-Semitism is a virus that can be treated but not cured. It morphs. Published January 29, 2019
The age of neo-imperialism
China, Russia and Iran are very different nations in very different parts of the world, but they have three significant commonalities: All once were great empires. All are now ruled by men who aspire to build great empires anew. All regard the United States as their rival and adversary. Published January 22, 2019
A plaintive cry for Argentina
Why isn't Argentina as wealthy as Canada? For that matter, why are all the countries of Latin America, without exception, so much less prosperous than their neighbors to the North? Published January 8, 2019
The first two years of Trump
The president of the United States has no responsibility more imperative that this: To defend Americans from those intent on doing them harm. Published January 1, 2019
President Trump repeats the strategic errors of his predecessor
For almost two years now, President Trump has seemed clear-eyed about the threat posed by those who proudly call themselves jihadis. Published December 25, 2018
A modest Middle East detente
Perhaps Barack Obama deserves that Nobel Peace Prize after all. His achievement: Bringing Israelis and Arabs closer together. He produced that result by throwing both under the bus. While there, they had coffee and a little baklava, and recognized how much they actually have in common. Published December 18, 2018
Punishing the Saudi prince
Consult a map of the Middle East. Locate the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea passage separating the Arabian Peninsula from Iran, and connecting the Gulf -- whether you call it the Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf is a thorny question -- to the open oceans beyond. Published December 11, 2018
Substitutes for victory in Afghanistan
Ten years ago this month, I joined a small delegation of think tank types invited by the U.S. military to see how the war in Afghanistan was going. My takeaway was that the American-led forces were not defeating the Taliban, but that their mission could be accomplished — if the incoming Barack Obama administration provided the additional resources the generals were saying they needed. Published November 20, 2018
Bring Asia Bibi to America
Eight years ago this month, Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian, was prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to be hanged on the charge of blasphemy. She has spent the years since on death row. Now, Pakistan's Supreme Court has overturned her conviction on grounds of insufficient evidence. So this sad story turns out to have a happy ending, right? C'mon, you knew it wasn't going to be that simple. Published November 13, 2018
