Clifford D. May

China, Russia and Iran: The empires strike back

Let's play Jeopardy! The answer: "All were great empires in the past, and all now have rulers determined to establish great empires in the future." And the question is: "What are China, Russia and Iran?" Published December 15, 2021

Beijing’s strategy for global dominance

The Cold War was a struggle for global supremacy between two superpowers. It ended thirty years ago this month when the Soviet hammer-and-sickle flag was lowered for the last time over the Kremlin. Published November 30, 2021

Saule Omarova: Biden’s leftist banker

For decades, Joe Biden was known as a man of the center-left, a normal guy, a regular Joe. His views have changed. I'm going to venture a guess as to why. Published November 23, 2021

United Nations’ transnational bureaucrats now do Beijing’s bidding

For decades, the United Nations has wasted billions of dollars, achieved little, and tolerated misconduct - the Oil-for-Food scandal and sexual exploitation by U.N. peacekeepers are just two examples. Published November 16, 2021

Chill out about global warming

At the United Nations Climate Summit (aka COP26) in Glasgow last week, President Joe Biden declared that climate change is "the existential threat to human existence as we know it." Published November 9, 2021

Bernard-Henri Levy’s dispatches from troubled lands

Bernard-Henri Levy is a philosopher, author, filmmaker, reporter, and bon vivant. Published November 2, 2021

Why Hamas fights Israel

In 2005, Israelis conducted a bold experiment. Published October 26, 2021

Biden’s bungled border security is a national security crisis

If I lived in poverty under an oppressive government in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, or Asia, I'd want to go to the United States. Published October 19, 2021

Remember the Battle of Lepanto

Last week, Oct. 7, to be precise, was the 450th anniversary of the Battle of Lepanto. Why should you give a flying fig? Published October 12, 2021

All of the lowlights from the United Nations General Assembly session

Over recent days, foreign leaders, rulers, and tyrants flocked to New York City for the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, also known as UNGA. Did you listen to their speeches? Published October 5, 2021

The Squad loves dead Jews: Support for Hamas implies nothing less

"People Love Dead Jews: Reports from a Haunted Present" is the title of Dara Horn's new book. Published September 28, 2021

Time for U.S. to unfriend Pakistan

Who's to blame for America's humiliating surrender in Afghanistan? We would be remiss to ignore the contributions of others to this historic fiasco. Prominent among them: Pakistan's leaders. Published September 22, 2021

After twenty 9/11 anniversaries, the sleeping giant nods off again

On the first anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks, I wrote a column about a BBC radio program Published September 7, 2021

Taliban call the shots as America’s humiliation continues

"The answer is no." That was the response, on Aug. 24, of Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen to a Sky News reporter who asked if the U.S. might be permitted more time to evacuate American civilians. Published August 31, 2021

President Biden chose the worst options in Afghanistan

You don't need to be a brilliant geopolitical strategist to understand that the United States should be the best friend - and the worst enemy - any nation could have. Published August 17, 2021

Biden’s military strategy for Iraq should be applied in Afghanistan

Biden fails to see that the least-bad option for Iraq is the least-bad option for Afghanistan as well: a small residual force of elite troops to continue training, advising and providing intelligence to the Afghan forces Published August 10, 2021

An open letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield

Or is it okay if I call you Ben and Jerry? So, anyhow, I read your op-ed in The New York Times, headlined, "We're Ben and Jerry. Men of Ice Cream, Men of Principle," and I thought you might like - or at least tolerate - a little feedback. Published August 3, 2021