Clifford D. May
Columns by Clifford D. May
Fixing Putin’s Russia-Ukraine war peace plan
President Trump is a master multitasker, but I doubt he had time last week to carefully examine the 28-point "peace" plan drafted by Steve Witkoff, his special envoy, and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's envoy. Published November 25, 2025
New York, New York, it’s a socialist town
My beat is national security and foreign policy, so I don't usually weigh in on municipal elections, but when the world's foremost capitalist city elects a socialist mayor, I make an exception. Published November 18, 2025
The war against Christians
"Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria," President Trump asserted on X last week. HIs concern is justified. Published November 11, 2025
Meet the Muslim Brotherhood
In 1918, V.I. Lenin renamed the Bolshevik Party the Russian Communist Party. Published November 4, 2025
America needs energy dominance
National security requires energy security. American greatness -- by which I mean the maintenance of American power second to none -- requires more than that. It requires energy dominance. Published October 28, 2025
Letter to Trump: Putin wants to out-negotiate you, Stalin-style
Dear President Trump: I understand you're thinking about meeting with Vladimir Putin again, this time in Budapest. Published October 21, 2025
Gaza celebrates while Hamas prepares for next war
For the past few days, large crowds of healthy, energetic Gazans have been cheering, dancing in the streets and chanting "Allahu akbar!" -- all recorded on their fully charged cellphones. Published October 14, 2025
Trump’s Gaza plan gives Hamas a final choice between survival and martyrdom
They say there are no atheists in foxholes. When it comes to Hamas, that's not reassuring. Published October 7, 2025
‘What is the purpose of the United Nations?’
When I was in graduate school, back in the previous century, I took two courses simultaneously on the United Nations. Published September 30, 2025
Qatar: Not an Arab Switzerland but a Muslim Brotherhood terrorist haven
A disturbing thought experiment: Imagine your children have been kidnapped and are being tortured in a dungeon. Published September 23, 2025
Twenty-four years after 9/11, the war on the West expands not contracts
Last week, we remembered the almost 3,000 victims of the al-Qaida terrorists who, on Sept. 11, 2001, hijacked passenger aircraft and flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Published September 16, 2025
The art of lying about Israel
For centuries, Jews have been the targets of lies. I'll mention just three. Published September 9, 2025
How Biden’s failed clean energy revolution weakened America’s national security
"A clean energy revolution is helping to save this planet." Thus spoke President Obama in 2015. Published September 2, 2025
The long U.N. war against Israel
As a foreign correspondent roving around Africa years ago, I often met United Nations personnel. Published August 26, 2025
Alaska summit revealed Putin’s neo-Soviet goals
Friday's summit meeting in Alaska was short on substance but long on symbolism. Published August 19, 2025
European leaders siding with Hamas make Gaza ceasefire harder for Trump
At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Sunday, U.S. Amb. Dorothy Shea offered an observation about the Gaza conflict: "This war could end today if Hamas would let the hostages go." Published August 12, 2025
Vladimir the Terrible: Trump must make Putin recalculate the costs, benefits of war
President Trump now sees Vladimir Putin through clearer eyes. I suspect first lady Melania Trump deserves much of the credit. Published August 5, 2025
Syria’s endangered minorities deserve protection
The Arab Spring was the media's name for a wave of protests -- some peaceful, some violent -- against various Middle Eastern dictatorships from 2010 to 2012. Published July 29, 2025
History shows tyrants in Iran, Russia and China only respond to decisive force, not empty talks
"You don't make peace with friends. You make it with very unsavory enemies." That aphorism, attributed to former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, has always struck me as more hopeful than convincing. Published July 15, 2025
Law and disorder: Interpol does the bidding of bad guys
Interpol is such a cool idea: Cosmopolitan cops chasing criminals around the world. The reality, I'm sorry to tell you, is rather different. Published July 8, 2025
