My (Dutch) Kingdom for Iraq

We may be moving towards Afghanistan as the new crisis in US-European relations, but that doesn't mean the old one of Iraq has gone away entirely. Our colleague Giles Scott-Smith, on our partner website Libertas, discusses the emerging political scandal in the Netherlands over alleged covert support by the Dutch Government for the US invasion of 2003:

For five years Premier Jan-Peter Balkenende has refused to allow any kind of investigation into the decisions and deals surrounding the Dutch ‘political, not military’ support for the 2003 invasion. Simmering discontent over this stubbornness, coupled with persistent suspicions that there was plenty to hide, kept the issue bubbling away within the worlds of investigative journalism and the political Left, who smelled a large, US-style rat. 

A Sensible Consideration of "Islamist Terrorism"

Our partner site Libertas features an outstanding Guest Blog by Maren Schroeder, who offers regular comments on Enduring America. She considers "Islamic terrorism" and asks, "Amidst the headlines of fear, how great is the peril?" Her conclusion, based on Europol's 2008 EU Terrorism Situation and Report:

The threat of Islamist Terrorism is real, but it is neither as prolific nor as inevitable as politicians and journalists alike seem to insist. A more productive emphasis, indeed a necessary first step is  an acknowledgement that foreign policy on EU and national level could cause retaliatory terror attacks in Europe. It is in a less belligerent approach to certain Muslim countries that the risk of suicide attacks can be decreased.

Scott Lucas in Dublin on Obama Foreign Policy: "And on the Eighth Day" (Audio)

Our partner site, Libertas, has now posted the audio of Scott Lucas's presentation to the "Change in Washington" conference in Dublin last Thursday. It is a consideration of the likely course of Obama foreign policy which could be seen either as "a salutory study in realism" or a far too-negative warning about pitfalls such as Afghanistan.

Obama on the Balance Beam: Or, Picking One's Battles

Our partner site, Libertas, has published a detailed analysis by Charles Gannon of St. Bonaventure University on an Obama foreign policy. Offering a response to Scott Lucas's post "And On the Eighth Day....", Professor Gannon concludes:

It seems to me that Obama may be doing more than just trying to reverse the ills and injuries inflicted over the past eight years: he's trying to change the recipe for how best to blend a milder, more palatable America into the global stock pot of a still-simmering world.

I sure hope he's a good cook.

Read the full article on Libertas....