Thomas R. Eddlem
Ames, Iowa, GOP Debate: Paul Schools Santorum, Bachmann on Iran, War
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) schooled former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on foreign policy issues in the August 11 GOP presidential debate in Ames, Iowa.
Obama Troop Withdrawal Will Leave 70,000 Soldiers in Afghanistan
President Obama addressed the nation June 22 to announce a gradual drawdown of the approximately 100,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan by withdrawing some 10,000 by the end of this year, and a total of 33,000 by next summer.
Ron Paul Counters Obama Policy on Israel, Middle East
Congressman Ron Paul issued a blistering critique of President Obama's recent proposal for Israel to surrender its territory to pre-1967 borders and create a Palestinian state.
Harry Reid Shuts Down Senate After Rand Paul Libya Maneuver
A "sense of the Senate" resolution by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky., left) opposing President Obama's Libyan intervention using Obama's own words as a Senator has tied up the U.S. Senate as Democratic Party leaders avoid an embarrassing vote against the leader of their party. Paul's resolution had been offered as an amendment to the Small Business Reauthorization bill.
Can We Cut "Defense" Spending?
Andrew Ferguson of the Weekly Standard summed up the neoconservative case against cutting U.S. defense spending in a February 21 article entitled “The Stockman Temptation.” In Ferguson’s article, he recollected that President Reagan’s Budget Director David Stockman had told Reagan back in the early 1980s that he must cut the defense budget in order to balance the budget. “Defense is not a budget issue,” Reagan responded. “You spend what you need.”
The Toll of U.S. Foreign Aid
Massive street protests erupted in Tunisia in late December, which ended the 23-year reign of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Fueled largely by an Internet-connected youth movement, the protests were partly a reaction to the publication by WikiLeaks of documents from U.S. diplomatic cables that revealed pandemic corruption by the ruling party, as well as government oppression that included arrests of lawyers, journalists, and political opponents. Another spark helped to ignite the revolt was the dramatic protest by Mohamed Bouazizi, who publicly set himself on fire on December 17 because of frequent government confiscation of his produce in his street vendor’s business and the government’s refusal to issue him the required vendor permits.
Obama Policy on Egypt: Back the Dictator
Obama administration leaders continued to defend Egypt's regime against protesters on Sunday morning talk shows, even as the corrupt 30-year reign of Egypt's Mubarak regime teeters on the edge of complete collapse.
Sen. Rand Paul: End All Foreign Aid
Tea Party favorite and freshman Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) may have crossed a "third rail" of politics by suggesting that the federal government zero out all foreign aid — including even foreign aid to Israel, America's largest foreign aid recipient over the past 30 years.
WikiLeaks: Whistleblowing or Treason?
The Obama administration used bribes of up to $30 billion in foreign aid and spying by the CIA to force underdeveloped nations to agree to the Copenhagen summit documents, according to the WikiLeaks documents analyzed by the London Guardian. The documents, the Guardian summarized December 3, revealed that “money and threats buy political support; spying and cyberwarfare are used to seek out leverage.”
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich