David Meyers

During his recent speech in Kabul, President Obama sought to close the door on Afghanistan as an election-year issue. He congratulated the troops, hailed the progress that’s been made due to his leadership, and reiterated his promise to withdraw most troops by 2014. As the president got on Air Force One, the message was clear: You won’t be hearing much else from me on Afghanistan (except, perhaps, to tout the death of Osama bin Laden). (more)

Iran is more determined than ever to produce a nuclear weapon. But sanctions and other Western efforts are having an impact, and Tehran now claims it wants to negotiate. The U.S. and Europe should expose this stalling tactic for the sham that it is. And the West’s policy on Burma provides the perfect paradigm for doing so. (more)

One of the most frivolous and disgusting lawsuits in recent memory was heard before a federal court in San Diego this week. PETA, a group that is supposed to stand for “ethical treatment,” filed a lawsuit claiming that SeaWorld had violated the 13th Amendment rights of orcas in its theme park. This is not a story from The Onion. It is a sad but true story that demonstrates PETA’s depravity, as well as the tremendous waste and inefficiency in our legal system. (more)

Vladimir Putin, once viewed as an adept politician, is stunningly out of touch. His close confidants are fleeing in droves, revealing the systemic corruption in his government. His poll numbers are dropping, raising the possibility that he may not win on the first vote in the upcoming (and rigged) presidential elections. And on Saturday, a record number of Russians defied freezing temperatures and threats of persecution to call for his removal. (more)

Newt Gingrich’s fall in Iowa has been attributed to many factors, ranging from attack ads to poor organization. But Gingrich also made a critical mistake that most losing politicians do: his campaign was focused on the past. From his promise to be the “Reagan Republican” to his 21st Century Contract with America, Gingrich kept asking people to vote for a return to the past. But voters want the next great American leader. And that’s what a successful campaign and candidate must be. (more)

In covering the merciful end of Herman Cain’s campaign Saturday, an MSNBC contributor said that Cain had been a major player in the Republican Party but would now be relegated to a historical footnote. The truth is that Herman Cain was never a serious candidate nor a serious politician or representative of the Republican Party. He was a fringe, gaffe-prone candidate (albeit a charismatic one) from day one. (more)

Iran is on the verge of obtaining a nuclear weapon. Even The New York Times editorial board now acknowledges this. And the Grey Lady is right to speculate that “no mix of sanctions and inducements can wean Tehran of its nuclear ambitions.” A military strike probably won’t do the job either. Iran’s leaders will do whatever it takes to obtain a nuclear weapon. And regime change is the only way to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear state. (more)

Mahmoud Abbas is not interested in peace with Israel. He made that abundantly clear last month when he declared, “We shall not recognize a Jewish state,” and when the Palestinian government released a logo on its website that literally wiped Israel off the map. Trying to impose a Palestinian state was just the latest effort to delegitimize and demonize Israel. For the moment, it appears this effort has failed. (more)

Yesterday our nation paused to remember and pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people who were stolen from us on September 11, 2001. Unfortunately, we can never recover the lives that were lost in those attacks. But yesterday, amid all of the solemn commemorations, we recovered something almost as important: the sense of national unity and purpose that defined America in the months following 9/11. (more)

The Syrian crisis reached a turning point today as Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from the country. These countries intimated that they would sever all ties and support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad if he didn’t stop murdering his own people or resign. (more)

The debt ceiling deal is only hours old, and it will be some time before the winners become clear (though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Barack Obama at the top of the list on November 7, 2012). But it’s very clear that the losers are the American people. (more)

Middle Eastern students protesting in the streets, demanding their freedom. Oppressed masses chanting “death to the dictator” and calling for political reforms. Violent and brutal crackdowns by a despotic regime. (more)

In his press conference yesterday, President Obama essentially argued that Americans shouldn’t question his interpretation of the War Powers Resolution because we’re helping “a lot of people against one of the worst tyrants in the world — somebody who nobody should want to defend.” (more)

On NPR’s The Takeaway this morning, host John Hockenberry claimed that although the Taliban doesn’t “love” America, the organization “has never been an enemy of the United States” because “they’re not sending planes over to New York or to the Pentagon.” (more)

In his Middle East speech last month, President Obama called on Israel to “act boldly” and make the tough choices that he believes are needed for peace. To the Palestinians, he posed a question: “The recent . . . agreement between Fatah and Hamas raises profound and legitimate questions for Israel -- how can one negotiate with a party that has shown itself unwilling to recognize your right to exist? In the weeks and months to come, Palestinian leaders will have to provide a credible answer to that question.” (more)

The unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, jobless claims are up, and every single American owes a $45,000 share of the national debt. But these are not the headlines we see on our computer screens, televisions, or newspapers. Instead, we are bombarded with excessive coverage of Rep. Anthony Weiner, speculation about who might run for president, and the horserace for the Republican presidential nomination (even though the Iowa and New Hampshire contests are eight months away). (more)

In his speech about the Middle East, the president correctly stated that “years of pursuing stability to promote peace had left us with neither. Instead, the lack of freedom in the Middle East made the region an incubator for terrorist movements.” (more)

When Paul Ryan released his plan to reform Medicare, Democrats and Republicans praised him for engaging the country in a serious debate about entitlement reform. This is a debate that everyone knows we must have because entitlements like Medicare are going broke and bankrupting our country in the process. But now, only weeks later, political cowardice and political opportunism are threatening to end the entitlement debate before it even gets started. (more)

President Obama’s supporters have attacked his decision to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed via the military commission process. Some of these criticisms have merit and are worthy of debate. But the argument that military commissions won’t be legitimate because members of the Armed Forces will serve as the judge and jury is patronizing, insulting, and demonstrably false. (more)

Entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are on the verge of bankruptcy and are driving our country off a financial cliff. Everyone knows that, you say? Well, in the fantasyland of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, entitlement programs aren’t a serious problem at all. (more)