The Mirage of Engagement

‘Tent’ Membership Has Its Problems, Newsday, April 5, 2015. "The nuclear deal with Iran announced by President Barack Obama on Thursday is a mirage -- an agreement now to agree later. But it stands for something bigger: the belief that it's better to have the bad guys inside the tent than out of it."

Does Free Trade Promote Democracy? Yes But.

Free Trade, But Not Only Free Trade, New Ledger, May 6, 2010. "Let me begin by agreeing, in part, with Greg Scoblete’s response on Real Clear World to my piece on humanitarian intervention and sovereignty in TNL last week. I’m happy to add freer trade to my list of ways that, depending on the circumstances, we may be able promote democratic change in foreign tyrannies or autocracies. Indeed, as I’ve pointed out elsewhere, a free and open economy is not just good at generating economic growth: it’s also a broader social and political good."

Engagement, That Magic Word

Morning Bell: Hot Dog Engagement, Heritage Foundation Foundry, June 29, 2009. "If one word can sum up the Obama Administration’s foreign policy, it’s “engagement.” From Cuba, to Iran and the Middle East, to Russia, engagement is the White House’s magic word, an incantation that it uses to justify everything it does. Engagement’s the improved, touchy-feely way of announcing that you plan to rely on diplomacy, and it’s all the more attractive to liberals as a result."