American Ideological Society

NATO's paralysis

"After the victory of the Cold War, NATO's raison d'etre became more problematic -- even as its theoretical reach now went all the way to the old borders of the Soviet Union. Yet, without the Soviet menace that had prompted the alliance, what justified the continued need for transatlantic collective defense?"

Farewell, NATO
Victor Davis Hanson

When I was growing up in the 1960s, we had a majestic Santa Rosa plum orchard on my family's farm. The trees were 40 years old and had grown to over 20 feet high. My grandfather would proudly recall how its once-bumper crops of big, sweet plums had helped him survive the Depression and a postwar fall in agricultural prices. Continued...

So, what does Russia want?

So, what does Russia want? The question intentionally echoes, "So what did Stalin want?" -- which historian John Lewis Gaddis asked then answered in his award-winning book "The Cold War: A New History." Gaddis argued Joseph Stalin wanted "security for himself, his regime, his country and his ideology, in precisely that order." These goals would also resonate in an "Old History" of Russia -- call it Tsar Wars, with Ivan the Terrible as the featured personality.

Alexander III, the only Tsar of Russia who
never fought a war for all thirteen years of his reign: 1881-1894
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Tsar Wars Versus Star Wars
Austin Bay

As the Russo-Georgian War's August gunfire slips into a murky September ceasefire, the Pentagon reports that the Russians "are still not living up to the terms of the ceasefire agreement." Continued...

'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah'

"Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have." - Hadith, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387:

Islam and concept of peace

By Dr. Ghulam Mursaleen

ISLAM, Christianity and Judaism are all scriptural religions, which affirm the existence of a divine revelation in written form, and hence their adherents are identified as ‘People of the Book.’ According to Muslims’ belief, Allah sent revelation first to Moses (as found in the Hebrew scripture the Torah), then to Jesus (the Gospel) and finally to Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, (through the Islamic scripture, the Qur’an). Continued...

In the face of lethal uncertainties

Whatever Europe does it does partly out of fear, partly out of calculation, and partly out of vanity. The vanity part burst out at the United States after the Cold War --- which, remember, crunched all those imperial egos in Paris and Berlin, London, Stockholm and Brussels. European capitals have been the center of an empire; they cherish an imperial past and indulge in sheer self-puffery. Moscow, London, Berlin, Paris -- Europe's grandiosity is amazing. So they secretly hated being dominated by the dumb Americans for the whole Cold War, even if it saved their necks.

Europe Betrays Itself in Georgia
By James Lewis

Europe has been the cause and battleground for all three World Wars of the 20th century. For that reason there has been one supreme question in world affairs since Hitler and Stalin: Can Europe ever learn to avoid repeating its own suicidal history? Continued...

Do you still think Georgia started the war?

"The West is ideologically divided. Too many of us believe the Russian lies. We believe, in our simplistic way, that tiny Georgia provoked mighty Russia. We haven’t bothered to find out what actually happened."

The West Comes Unraveled
by J. R. Nyquist

When a civilization begins to unravel, the first action is always internal. It is hidden, spiritual, and unobserved by the public. Brazilian philosopher Olavo de Carvalho recently pointed out that Western Civilization has produced more “educated” people than we have positions for. In fact, we’ve educated them beyond their intelligence, giving them tools too advanced for their character, putting a simple life of contented drudgery out of their reach. In other words, we’ve mass-produced a horde of impotent wits, angry because their princely education cannot produce for them a princely sum or a kingdom. Continued...

To effectively deal with the war of ideas

"To effectively deal with the war of ideas that Jihad represents, American government and policy leaders must honestly and clearly define the enemy ideology, and reject regional and statist tactics that are designed for a different enemy than we are fighting today."

Transnational Jihad, Supremacism, and Cold War Tactics
By Jeffrey Imm

In facing new threats, a fundamental focus must be on defining the identity of such threats and an associated awareness of the need to change our governmental and policy strategies accordingly. If the threats are not clearly identified and defined, the consequences are a series of desperate, fractured tactical efforts to address aspects of the threats as perceived by diverse governmental organizations, without a coordinated strategy. Such a tactical-centric approach to new threats would predictably draw upon old paradigms and processes used in addressing older, previous threats. Continued...

History of Terror - Prague Spring, 1968

Forty years ago in the morning hours of August 21, 1968, the Soviet army invaded Czechoslovakia along with troops from four other Warsaw Pact countries. The occupation was the beginning of the end for the Czechoslovak reform movement known as the Prague Spring.

Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia, 1968
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1968: Russia brings winter to 'Prague Spring'

Dozens of people have been killed in a massive military clampdown in Czechoslovakia by five Warsaw Pact countries. Several members of the liberal Czechoslovak leadership have been arrested, including Prime Minister Alexander Dubcek. Continued...

Five years of failed European diplomacy

Bolton: I think the administration was very slow to react when the Russian troops moved in [Georgia], and the failure to respond quickly was a signal of indecision and really a lack of any coherent response. And I think that encouraged the Russians to push further ahead. They certainly could have done whatever they wanted to do militarily, but if there were any chance for restraining them politically, the administration lost that.

Ambassador John Bolton
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Confronting the Threat
By Reut R. Cohen

Ambassador John Bolton made a reputation as a forceful advocate for American interests both during his tenure in the State Department and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Since partisan leftists deprived the nation of his service, Bolton has acted as an expert spokesman on foreign policy, from North Korea and Iran to Europe and the Middle East. Reut R. Cohen sat down with Bolton to discuss the monumental changes in foreign policy over the last few weeks. Continued...

Western helplessness and delusion

"Russia's invasion [in Georgia] was the direct result of nearly a decade of Western helplessness and delusion. Inexperienced and cautious in the international arena at the start of his reign in 2000, Mr. Putin soon learned he could get away with anything without repercussions from the EU or America."

Garry Kasparov, leader of The Other Russia coalition
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How the West Fueled Putin's Sense of Impunity

By GARRY KASPAROV

Russia's invasion of Georgia reminded me of a conversation I had three years ago in Moscow with a high-ranking European U-nion official. Russia was much freer then, but President Vladimir Putin's onslaught against democratic rights was already underway. Continued...

We have a few questions for you...

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." Do you know what it is? This is the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.

Voters Should Pass a Minimal Civics Test

By Doug Patton

I have never been an advocate of the popular notion that "everyone should vote." Some people look at me as if I am somehow un-American when I say that I am not in favor of encouraging people to vote who would otherwise never darken the door of a polling place. I really don't want someone on the streets of Hollywood, who just failed to identify the vice president of the United States on one of Jay Leno's "Jay-Walking" segments, helping to select the person who will lead my government for the next four years. Continued...