By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
As Washington surveys the landscape of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, it becomes clear that the ensuing chaos resembles something closer to a long, harsh winter than a hopeful beginning.
Shortly after Israeli warplanes struck inside Syria to take out Iranian missiles intended for Hezbollah, Iranian Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said, "The attack carried out by the Zionist regime will shorten this fake regime's life."
Iran has kicked off a campaign to recruit volunteer fighters to join the Syrian regime and help President Bashar Assad battle rebel uprisings.
Iran promised on Tuesday to be a "reliable partner" to the West if the United States would adopt a more cooperative tone in nuclear development talks.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Sunday the United States and Israel see "exactly the same" threat from Iran but differ on when it may reach the point of requiring U.S. or Israeli military action.
International sanctions are squeezing Iran's economy but are doing little to dissuade the regime's nuclear ambitions, the top U.S. intelligence officer told Congress on Thursday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defended his nation's nuclear program on Monday and said Western morals seeping into the world's cultures are the real threat.
China's new ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, arrived in Washington this week and takes up the key diplomatic post with a notable past of diplomatic activities, as detailed in leaked classified State Department cables from 2006 and 2010.
On the second day of President Obama's historic trip to Israel, the tension that had marked his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to thaw, even as Mr. Obama called on Israel's people and leaders to compromise in order to attain peace and security.
China and Pakistan reached a formal agreement last month to construct a third nuclear reactor at Chashma that the Obama administration says will violate Beijing’s promises under an international anti-nuclear weapons accord.
As the world focuses on the passing of Hugo Chavez and the impact of his socialist policies on oil-rich Venezuela, halfway around the globe a different kind of leader has been quietly transforming his country into a prosperous and reliable partner of the West.
President Obama is continuing his efforts to relate to the Iranian people and their leaders on their own terms by sending out an outreach video extending them best wishes for a new spring and the Persian New Year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday appointed a hard-line former military chief as the country's new defense minister.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is under fire for an "un-Islamic" embrace of Hugo Chavez's mother, Elena Frias, at the late Venezuelan president's funeral Friday.
This year has been widely hailed as a "year of decision" on Iran -- a moment when Western powers will need to make some hard choices about how far they are actually prepared to go to stop Iran's march toward developing a nuclear weapon.
