Monthly Archives: July 2024

SHOULD WE “TURN DOWN THE TEMPERATURE”?

In the aftermath of the attempted killing of Donald Trump, leaders from both sides of the political spectrum have urged Americans to “turn down the temperature.”

President Biden asserted that political rhetoric had become “over-heated” and urged all Americans to “cool it down.” On the same day, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson complained that Biden’s attacks on Trump had contributed to a “heated political environment,” adding: “We’ve got to turn the temperature down in this country.”

It’s easy to see the appeal of pleas for reason over passion, especially in the wake of an assassination attempt. But let’s not go too far. Passion has a proper place in politics. And while some calls to turn down the temperature may be sincere, others may be cynical attempts to deflect legitimate criticism.

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ISRAEL AT WAR: FAILURE AND FORTITUDE

Nine months into its war with Hamas, Israel is a nation in a state of paradox.

On the one hand, there is a deep-seated sense of failure.  Hamas, though badly mauled, still exists. Its senior leaders, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, are alive and issuing orders. The organization operates as a statelet, issuing defiant declarations while pretending to negotiate, through intermediaries, with the United States and Israel. It still holds 116 hostages, living or dead.

In the North, 60,000 Israelis remain refugees in their own country, as Hezbollah launches daily rocket attacks, rendering much of the region uninhabitable.

Beyond Israel’s borders, Houthi rebels attack Red Sea shipping.  And of uppermost concern, Iran, the chief sponsor of all this terror, moves ever closer to acquiring weapon-grade fissile material for nuclear weapons. Israel seems unable, and its main ally the United States seems unwilling, to stop Iran.

And yet, in the midst of this overarching sense of failure, something else is going on in Israel, something subtle but evident to visitors.

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Filed under Foreign Policy, Politics