Clifford D. May

Israel faces intensifying external threats and internal divisions

From atop small mountain peaks in the Israeli Golan Heights you can peer deep into both Lebanon and Syria. On the Israeli side of the border, everything is green. Why? Because the Israelis irrigate and plant trees. Published August 16, 2023

Seventy years ago, the Korean War didn’t quite end

May I remind you what a hellhole North Korea is? The Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- that's its official and fraudulent name -- is a dynastic totalitarian dictatorship. Published August 1, 2023

Why Kerry got the cold shoulder in Beijing

In 2021, John Kerry was appointed to a position no American had ever before held: U.S. special presidential envoy for climate. Mr. Kerry's one essential mission has failed. Published July 25, 2023

Renewing NATO: Peace requires deterrence, which requires military might

The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathered last week in the capital of Lithuania, where they declared their commitment to "individual liberty, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law." Published July 18, 2023

Iran’s shadow war: Israelis are defending themselves against Tehran’s foreign legions

Israelis battled Palestinians in the northern West Bank last week. But here's a more accurate description of reality: Israeli troops battled Iran's foreign legions in the northern West Bank last week. Published July 11, 2023

The rise and fall of Putin’s warlord, Yevgeny Prigozhin

Vladimir Putin could have lived out his life in luxury, committing serial murders with impunity and spending his country's wealth fighting tigers in Siberia at his suburban Moscow mansion. Published July 5, 2023

Yes, Xi Jinping is a dictator, and he should be proud of it

What's Xi Jinping getting his knickers in a knot about? Published June 27, 2023

What would happen if Putin were to prevail in Ukraine?

Western leaders have long misunderstood Vladimir Putin. Published June 20, 2023

‘Cobalt Red’: The price Africans pay so we can have better batteries

Electric vehicles are marvelous in many ways, but if you think they're "green and clean," you haven't done your homework. Not to worry: Siddharth Kara has done it for you. Published June 13, 2023

Stalinist approach to peacemaking is homicidal logic: No Israel, no problem

"Death solves all problems," Josef Stalin is quoted as having said. "No man, no problem." A significant number of influential people are now applying the Soviet dictator's logic to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Published June 6, 2023

In fantasy of multipolarity, new world order would be dominated by Chinese Communists

At the conclusion of its summit in Hiroshima, Japan, earlier this month, the Group of Seven issued a communique calling attention to China's "malign practices." Published May 30, 2023

Bashar Assad is back, and the Arab League’s got him

Is there, anywhere in the world, a dictator with bloodier hands than Bashar Assad? Published May 16, 2023

Israel’s 75th birthday: Despite endless war, Jewish state survives and even thrives

On May 14, 1948, in the Tel Aviv Museum, David Ben-Gurion read from the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. Published May 9, 2023

The new — or perhaps renewed — Cold War

On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and the Cold War ended. Or did it? Published May 2, 2023

French twist: Emmanuel Macron cozies up to Chinese Communist Party

Is France still an ally of the United States? Based on Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to the People's Republic of China earlier this month, the answer to that question is in doubt. Published April 25, 2023

Losing Latin America: U.S. retreats while China’s Communist rulers advance

"Asia Firster" is the term applied to those who argue that the threat Beijing poses to Taiwan should be Washington's top national security priority. Published April 18, 2023

Lessons of the energy crisis

Energy policy is national security policy. So when political leaders get energy policy wrong, they get national security policy wrong. Published April 5, 2023

No alternative to ‘peace through strength’ is preferable to robust deterrence

A policy of "peace through strength" means doing what is necessary to instill fear in our enemies, to convince them that we have both the capability and the will to cause them serious harm. Published March 28, 2023

Facing existential threats, Israelis can’t resist fighting one another

How many simultaneous conflicts can a small country handle? Israel may soon find out. Published March 21, 2023

China’s global supremacists: Communists in Beijing have grand ambitions

Code Pink, among the looniest groups on the far left, last week attempted to disrupt a hearing of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Published March 7, 2023