With the heated, ongoing debates over leaked excerpts from the April 2006 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), it might be a good idea to examine briefly the history and nature of these documents. NIE's originated with the CIA's Office of National Estimates, established in 1950.  Its first... More

[satire] Memorandum to: Charles Manson  From: Your Counsel  Date: October, 2006 Charlie, We are roughly three quarters of the way through 2006 and your next parole hearing is in 2007.  I despise useless, futile gestures, and actions that have mere pretensions of being... More

The Pope recently met with ambassadors from Islamic countries. Although the meeting itself was widely reported, important details and contextual information have not been widely reported even in Italy, much less in the worldwide media. They provide important signals for understanding the Pontiff's... More

Various Democrats have looked with favor upon the anti—American Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez over the years, his record of deepening anti—Semitism notwithstanding. Ex—president Carter helped him secure his position by certifying election results that others have cast... More

Wednesday  night I heard the global warming presentation that former Vice President Al Gore has now given many hundreds of times around the country and the world in recent years. The speech was turned into a movie, An Inconvenient Truth (with accompanying book) produced by Laurie David, the... More

There is potentially no more deplorable aspect of politics in the new millennium than the backwards—looking blame game played by both Parties on a daily basis. Whether it's the economy, taxes, budget deficits, or corruption, members on both sides of the aisle always have an extended finger... More

Private conversations and correspondence indicate that I am far from the only person who has recently been giving more credence to what Max Boot of the Los Angeles Times calls 'a dark view of Islam.' The furious, sometimes violent, and often abusive response of much of the Muslim world to... More

That most wonderful time of the year has arrived. Oh, the joy of election season!  Overpriced, overcooked fundraising dinners; tasteless posters and bumper stickers; sophomoric TV attacks, excruciating debates and, oh yeah — politically motivated leaks to the press.  This season's... More

An interesting example of a phenomenon that might be called 'mainstreaming' turned up in the New York  Observer's October 2nd edition. That weekly newpaper, while not of enormous circulation, is a trend— and tone—setter among the smart set of media—saturated Manhattan... More

Last week the press, discreet as always, published a nugget mined from the top secret National Intelligence Estimate. The banner headlines suggested that our intelligence experts believe the war in Iraq to be an impediment in the "war on terror" because it stimulates al Qaeda's recruitment.... More

A funny thing happened on the way to the midterm elections: everybody started talking about Bill Clinton. Television networks, newspapers, present and former DNC chairmen, Speaker of the House wannabes, left—wing shills, you name it. For almost a solid month, the former president filled the... More

Iran's mullahs have threatened an oil embargo in response to pressures exerted to accept curbs on its nuclear program — curbs that it has agreed to when it signed the Nuclear Non—Proliferation Pact. This agreement, and subsequent promises made to the International Atomic Energy Agency... More

This weekend someone in Washington leaked to The New York Times the key judgment of a recently—completed — and highly classified —— National Intelligence Estimate: 'The Iraq war has made the overall terrorism problem worse.'  According to the leakers quoted by The... More

The recent Supreme Court decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld,  in a feat of tortuous logic and ignoring the Political Question Doctrine, has created Geneva Convention protections for international terrorists, something few students of international humanitarian law anticipated, certainly few in... More

Stories are the stuff of daily life. They give structure and meaning to our existence within the continuous flow of history. They awaken us to the significance of our individual and collective roles within the context of a common narrative. Fragments from the stories of our days that we deem of... More

Last week, former president Bill Clinton took some time out of his busy dating schedule to have a not so friendly chat with Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday. Given his rabidity, Mr. Clinton might consider taking a few milligrams of Valium the next time he allows himself to face 'fair and balanced'... More

The official 'day of rage' demonstrations over Pope Benedict the XVI's Regensburg address are behind us, and a deluge of Muslim—Christian dialogue engagements (starting here; etc.; etc.)  loom ahead. But a taboo subject remains unraised, something far more inflammatory than what the... More

Like some fabled vampire jerkily rising from his crypt, John F. Kerry crept back in the news, madly signaling a new run for the Democrat Party nomination.  As in previous revivals, Kerry is banking on his faithful Teresa, who sprinkled her life—giving Heinz ketchup money all over... More

Dear Mr. Buckley: This open letter to you is the result of your essay published September 14th of this year and entitled, 'Is Victory Possible?' In this essay, you quite ably, as we have come to expect from you, describe President Bush as a man committed to defeating the extremists among the Muslim... More

New communications technologies generally bring with them expectations which are rarely fulfilled. In about 1948 my dad, always a fan of technology, decided we should have a television set. My mother warned that we kids would stop reading and become lazy idiots if we watched that thing and... More

Australia is once again making more sense than any other country on earth with regard to issues of culture and immigration. Like its Anglosphere cousins the United States and Canada, Australia's political economy, personal freedom, rule of law, and other characteristics inherited from the British,... More

Even as the U.S. faces Iran, it's too soon to abandon Iraq Review of Death to America: The Unreported Battle of Iraq by Ryan Mauro, (PublishAmerica, Sept. 12, 2005), 313 pp., $24.95. Just after the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11----and two months from a critical mid--term election----even... More

What Iran recently accomplished in Lebanon has been called by various names.  A red herring, feint or diversion is what it is commonly called when recognized but the term MacGuffin (or McGuffin) is much more suitable when explaining Ahmadinejad's clever ploy. This term was defined by Alfred... More

As a supreme symbol of Europe's prowess in aerospace, indeed in modern technology itself, the A 380 superjumbo jet, is melting down. No longer the embodiment of European cooperation and unity, its third announced delivery delay reveals internal chaos, bickering, finger—pointing and... More

There is no reason for surprise at the vehemence and violence of Islamic rage at the Pope's recent remarks. Islam recognizes no freedom of speech, nor even any freedom of conscience. Infidels should know better. The lessons of history are clear. As always, we ignore them at our peril. This Friday,... More

It has now been almost a month since the United Nations demanded that Iran cease its enrichment of uranium or face sanctions from the world community. Sadly, the united front demonstrated during the passing of the U.N. Security Council's resolution has quickly faded as the United Nations is showing... More

The Democratic Party has been a congenial political home for many American Jews since the era of FDR. The party welcomed them into its ranks (along with many blacks and urban dwellers) and its programs comported well with many values Jews cherish. The Party was also seen as one that had offered... More

Editor's Note: Following publication of J.R. Dunn's article 'Conspiracy Theories and Media Ignorance', American Thinker published a response one of the principal conspiracy theorists, Prof. James H. Fetzer, and a rejoinder from Mr. Dunn. Today,we present a second and concluding... More

Some of the 'controversy' around the identification of the aircraft that hit the Pentagon on 9—11 has been caused by the engine parts that appear in the wreckage photos.  The assertion has been made that an aircraft other than a Boeing 757 was involved, because of the relatively small... More

If a team of geniuses sat down to design a man who should never be President of the United States they would come up with John McCain. Fortunately the character flaws that make him unfit for the Oval Office also put that office well beyond his reach. Sometimes the universe really does unfold as it... More

In the lead—up to the fifth anniversary of 9/11, a glut of news stories appeared decrying the increase of alleged bias against Muslims in America since that tragic day. One such article that has been reprinted in dozens of papers all over the country and in prominent media outlets overseas... More

Amidst the cascade of caterwauling over the 'plight' of the Islamist monsters being detained at Guantanamo, the potential for an adverse effect on the Geneva Conventions' protections for our captured soldiers has been touted as a self—interested reason to apply severe restraints on the... More

Clarice Feldman has mailed today (9/19/06) the following letter to the Department of Justice, Office of Professional Responsibility regarding the conduct of Patrick Fitzgerald, in the matter of the prosecution Lewis "Scooter" Libby. With her permission, we reproduce it in its entirety. H.... More

Since his election to the papacy in April of 2005, Pope Benedict has bent over backwards in an effort to assuage the concerns of Muslims over issues that place them in conflict with the west. It is therefore something of a surprise that he would knowingly challenge radical Islamists by quoting a... More

We have all enjoyed tut—tutting about the Muslim cultural practice of dhimmitude, the notion that under Islam the infidel is a second—class citizen and must defer to the faithful at all times. No eating and drinking in front of the faithful during Ramadan, for example. But it is... More

In the category of 'some people never learn,' a Republican Congressman agreed to plead guilty to illegally accepting tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, giving him the dubious distinction of being the first U.S. lawmaker convicted in the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal. Ohio Rep. Bob... More

Five years after we finally noticed that Muslim enemies were at war with us we still haven't identified those enemies or developed a realistic strategy for victory. The depth of our confusion shows in the ridiculous debates that preoccupy our politicians and journalists. Is it proper to call our... More

Editor's Note: Following publication last Friday of J.R. Dunn's article 'Conspiracy Theories and Media Ignorance', American Thinker received a response from one of the principal advocates of a theory debunked in that article, James H. Fetzer, Distinguished McKnight University... More

There are 435 Congressional districts, and in most election years, 5 to 10% of them have competitive races, almost always won by an incumbent.  In recent years, a much higher percentage of open seats have turned over between the parties, than seats where the existing Congressman or... More

The world listens carefully to the words of any pope. And it is tragic and dangerous when one sows pain, either deliberately or carelessly. He needs to offer a deep and persuasive apology, demonstrating that words can heal. — New York Times editorial 9/16/06  To be sure, there are few... More

The most important address commemorating 9/11/01 was delivered on 9/12/06, a day after the fifth anniversary of this cataclysmic act of jihad terrorism. It was not delivered by President Bush, and was not even pronounced in the United States. On September 12, 2006 at the University of Regensburg,... More

I read Pope Benedict XVI's address 'Faith, Reason and the University'.  It is too bad the media missed the lecture's main thrust of a challenge to modern secularists about their exclusion of peoples of deeply held faith, in their race to write inflammatory headlines. The Pope noted "A reason... More

Daniel Ellsberg must surely support Ahmadinejad getting nukes. There are no two ways about it. In a forthcoming article in  Harper's Magazine, Ellsberg is going to call for moles in the Bush Administration to leak any plans to stop Ahmadinejad's rush to nukes —— presumably to... More

'The fanatic is incorruptible: if he kills for an idea, he can just as well get himself killed for one; in either case, tyrant or martyr, he is a monster.'  —   E.M. Cioran (1911 — 1995) Granted, the Rumanian—born aphorist, Emile Cioran, was an eternal... More

While Israel believes its war with Hezb'allah had reinvigorated its deterrence posture, an Iranian attack on Israel is now more likely than before. Two main reasons account for this forecast. First, Tehran must now realize that its strategy of relying on Hezb'allah as a stopgap deterrent to... More

The Senate Armed Services Committee may disagree, and notable veterans like Senators McCain, Warner and Graham, joined by General Colin Powell, may spearhead the opposition, but torture must be an option in our war on terror. It might be legitimate to worry that American soldiers will be... More

Steal a loaf of bread and one or both of your upper extremities will be hacked off at the wrist. Get caught holding hands with your same—sex fiancé and the only thing the two of you will ever share again is a slow, painful, death.  Are you a married woman who's just suffered the... More

The problem with the media doesn't end with bias. You can also throw in pure ignorance. Unless they specialize in a particular topic, journalists tend to be completely uninformed on technical issues, to the point where they often miss how those issues tie in with the stories they're working on.... More

I've been dismissive of Democratic charges that the Bush administration is suppressing dissent.  I think that I, in common with most people, define government suppression of dissent as a situation in which the government tortures, imprisons or kills dissenters. For example, just a month ago,... More

As Democrat football teams started their mini—camps this summer, there was great anticipation concerning the upcoming season. Many sports analysts predicted a left—wing sweep that would end up in a changing of the guard come January. Yet, given the results of the NFL's opening weekend,... More

It is sad to watch a once—great company decline. Jobs are sacrificed, historic facilities closed, and an atmosphere of failure and fear usually permeates the surviving operations. When a company needs to sell—off profitable crown jewels to sustain the lagging less profitable pieces, it... More

Are we losing the War on Terror? Five years after 9/11, the question is being asked with some urgency, and not by appeasers, defeatists, or the general run of whiner, but by individuals of respect, people of considerable expertise and experience, people deserving of close attention under any... More

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al—Maliki—who spent years in Iran during his exile from the Saddam Hussein regime—made his first official visit to Iran Tuesday, September 12, 2006  —five years and a day after the cataclysmic jihad terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.  Mr.... More

Life consists of choices, and no choice is graver than war or peace. The 9/11 assault on New York City and Washington, D.C. posed such a choice. Should we go to war against bin Laden and the Taliban? The answer had to be "Yes" or "No." Those who deny that the President of the United States was... More

The flap over ABC's mini—series The Path to 9/11 is a beautiful thing to behold.  It reminds us of the glory years of the Clinton Spin Ballet, Balanchine—like in its exquisite choreography.  The principals, Clinton and Clinton, dance a sorrowful adagio about the truth,... More

We received an email from a Mr. Jack Stokes with an Associated Press email address, containing a statement from Ms. Linda Wagner, Director of Media Relations & Public Affairs, Associated Press. The subject line of the email from Mr. Stokes' is: AP Statement/Blog "Spy" Accusations/American... More

On this 5th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001, we Americans are engaged in the helpful process of taking stock, carefully toting up the pluses and minuses in our imaginary ledgers of where we are as a nation. Perhaps we even take some time to calculate the political cost/benefit... More

A hero is someone who makes you proud to belong to the same species. If a group of aliens from the Thothian galaxy were to come here, looking for a new planet to colonize after sterilizing it of all contaminating life forms, and ask you why they shouldn't sterilize Earth, what defense would you... More

Columnist, novelist, and retired United States Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters has earned a reputation as an often insightful and provocative analyst of military affairs and geopolitics. But of late, he has taken to villifying those who examine the theology and practice of Jihad in Islam. Writing what... More

Tomorrow, while much of the country pauses to remember the victims of 9/11 on the five year anniversary of that horrible day, it will occur to many of us what those attacks signified: the day that the United States awoke from its decades—long slumber and finally faced up to the fact that we... More

During a recent trip to a small neighborhood grocery and deli, I was afforded a rare opportunity to gain some insight into the state of political debate in America. A man, who appeared to be in his mid to late thirties, was shopping and chatting with his young daughter of three or four who was... More

Mary Habeck, an associate professor at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University has published a book that has been billed as an authoritative study of jihadist ideology. The book, Knowing the Enemy, published by the Yale University Press, has generally received good... More

If I were to scribe a pithy letter to all the closed—minded liberals who deem me and my ilk closed—minded, it would read: Dear Friends, Oftentimes in recent years, and especially since I renounced my Democratic Party membership, then my Independent label, and finally announced... More

Democrats are once again experiencing the adrenalin rush that accompanies the prospect of regaining power in one or both houses of Congress. Polling data tells them that the President has low approval numbers, and the Republican—controlled Congress is even lower in public esteem.... More

Many businesses have discovered that there is no real need to keep people in one physical location, in order to effectively and efficiently coordinate their work effort. Telecommuting, the pratice of working from remote locations, be it a client's premises or even from home, offers many advantages.... More

Before dawn on Sunday, August 27th past, Comair Flight 5191 carrying fifty passengers and crew crashed during takeoff, while attempting to depart on a runway one—half the length of the one it was cleared to use. The accident killed all aboard with the exception of the copilot, whose... More

The agreement announced yesterday between the Pakistani government and representatives of the Taliban Council in North Waziristan appears on the surface to be an equitable arrangement that addresses the serious problems of Taliban and al—Qaeda incursions across the border into Afghanistan to... More

On Thursday, September 7, 2006, as first reported by the Times of London   this past Saturday (9/2/06), an All—Party Parliamentary Enquiry into Antisemitism is expected to issue its finding that anti—Jewish violence has become endemic in Britain, both on the streets and... More

After a month of military action in Lebanon pitting Israel against Hezbollah, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1701.  A cessation of hostilities was reached in mid—August, 2006, and two weeks later a conference was held in Stockholm to specifically raise funds for the... More

A dangerous fatalism has gripped too many people with regard to the threat posed by Iran's nuclear weapons program. America holds much better cards than the mullahs. We have let ourselves be spooked for far too long. History is full of instances that instruct us in the dangers of wallowing in... More

On August 20 soldiers from the  1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, acting on a tip, conducted a raid that freed a kidnap victim being held in Baghdad's Adhamiya district.  In the house where the victim was held soldiers found 2 rocket—propelled grenades (RPGs), 20... More

As the fifth anniversary of the attacks on 9/11 approaches, Americans are once again facing the horrors surrounding this event, and the ominous portent it conveyed. Yet, for some reason, one group of citizens has chosen to commemorate this solemn occasion by protesting an ABC miniseries documenting... More

It is a lot harder to reliably forecast the likelihood of a change in control for the House than for the Senate.  There are 435 House races, and roughly 65 of them are drawing some degree of competitive attention this year, far more than in prior cycles. There are few independent polls that... More

Over two hundred years ago, in The Wealth of Nations (now available on Google Book Search), Adam Smith applauded the general increase in prosperity in eighteenth century England.  Its day—laborers and their wives could all afford to wear leather shoes. Indeed, "The poorest creditable... More

As Iran's nuclear program moves ahead, there is something especially puzzling, and even disturbing, about American actions. Three years ago President Bush stated that Iran must not be allowed to go nuclear. As time passes Iran becomes more dangerous and belligerent, yet President Bush's stance... More

Until recently, the plan (such as it is) for reducing America (and the world's) dependence on oil from foreign sources, mainly in the Middle East, has been to find more sources of domestic oil and oil from friendlier, non—OPEC countries. This hasn't been a terrible strategy in theory, but the... More

Great news! Great news! The deadly confrontation between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran is about to become history. The dove of peace is here in the person of the Smiling Mullah Khatami. Just look at his serene face with and ever—present reassuring little smile. It makes you forget... More

The DVD of United 93 will go on sale today. There are at least five reasons why you should rush out and buy a copy: 1. It is a way of voting against liberal defeatism and mainstream apathy and forgetfulness—a way of saying, in the language of sales dollars that even liberals listen to, "yes,... More

Today at Tigerhawk, National Review's Andrew McCarthy offers an explanation for Armitage's behavior: First, while it now seems abundantly clear that the leak of Plame's identity did not violate the covert agent identity protection act (50 U.S.C. 421 et seq.), this was a subject of considerable... More

According to the London Times, ''On Thursday an all—party parliamentary inquiry will state that anti—Semitic violence has become endemic in Britain, both on the streets and university campuses." Read it, and mourn for an England that is no more. Anti—Semitic violence has been... More

Have you ever been in a situation in which you were talking with a few people at a social gathering and heard one of them make a racial or religious slur? Maybe you were at a party, chatting with a small group, when suddenly one of them says, 'Well, you know how those Jews are, they're all alike.'... More

In an article shamelessly ignoring its role in the Wilson hoax and solicitous of the leaker, the New York Times, on a holiday weekend Saturday, mentions that Richard Armitage was the source of the leak of Plame's identity.* It  focuses on whether Fitzgerald was right to continue the... More

In all the publicity about their attack on Senator Joe Lieberman, it has gone almost unnoticed that the far left has also targeted some members of the Black Caucus for their support of highly selective Bush administration policies. This support often came about only after hard negotiations to... More

Liberals will sleep with anybody. No, this isn't just another off—color reference to our esteemed former President Clinton. Instead, I'm referring to political alliances. More specifically, I'm talking about those on the left who would trade in common sense for political opportunism, even at... More

Britain's Channel 4 is to broadcast and market worldwide, via the Toronto Film Festival, a docudrama, The Death of a President (DOAP), depicting the future assassination of President Bush, providing the latest and highest budget artifact of the leftist craze Michelle Malkin aptly has dubbed ... More

The descent of the Democrats into seeming madness is both frightening and puzzling. To those paying attention and of stable mind, the Democrats look something like Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Ancient Mariner: It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three. 'By thy long grey beard and... More

'[Hezb'allah] is a military force funded, trained by and answerable to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iran that is pledged — as it has been since the Khomeini revolution of 1979 — to the destruction of Israel and the genocide of the Jews, as a prelude to destroying the West and... More