Doug Bandow

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy’

As the latest terrorist atrocity in Paris demonstrates, radical Islam exhibits a veritable blood lust at the retail level. While politics undoubtedly was behind the attack -- French planes had been bombing Islamic State territory for more than a year -- the killers deployed theology to justify slaughtering 130 common people just going about their lives.

November 23, 2015

BANDOW: Religious liberty sprouts in China

Today, China's big cities look much like urban areas anywhere in the world. There are lots of cars.

September 5, 2014

BANDOW: A tragedy in Ukraine, not a cause for war

The agony of the families of the 298 people who died on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 lives on.

August 7, 2014

BANDOW: Unlocking prosperity in a corrupt Nigeria

I stepped into the elevator to head down for dinner. It jerked to a stop and went silent, leaving me in darkness.

April 3, 2014

BANDOW: Obama’s ivory-trade regulatory overkill

The Obama administration is preparing to treat virtually every antique collector, dealer and auctioneer in America as a criminal. In the name of saving elephants, the administration is effectively banning the sale of all ivory objects, even if acquired legally decades ago.

February 18, 2014

BANDOW: It’s time to shut down the Transportation Safety Administration

Any American who travels must deal with the Transportation Safety Administration. The Bush administration made many mistakes in dealing with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Creating a government monopoly to handle transportation safety was one of the worst.

January 5, 2014

BOOK REVIEW: Twin journeys at Civil War’s end

The Civil War filled four years with death and destruction. Politicians on both sides vastly underestimated the human carnage from the conflict they were about to ignite. The Union was preserved, but at a cost of 620,000 dead.

January 18, 2011

BOOK REVIEW: Power struggle with a bloody end

American politics can be vicious and un-principled, but they are not deadly. Defeated politicians join think tanks, give big-dollar speeches and plot campaign comebacks.

December 28, 2010

BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Ten Commandments’

Can anything new be said about the Ten Commandments? They are the essential moral building blocks of Western society. Even most people outside of the Jewish and Christian faiths recognize the importance of the Ten Commandments.

November 26, 2010

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Chess Masterpieces’

Chess has tens if not hundreds of millions of adherents around the globe. A few participate in world-class tournaments.Most play "coffeehouse" chess with friends and strangers alike.

October 29, 2010

BANDOW: Downplaying religious freedom

The U.S. government long has promoted human rights. However, religious liberty typically has received minimal attention and has been subordinated to other American objectives, such as confronting communism and terrorism.

August 10, 2010

BANDOW: Tax Freedom Day mirage

Americans are about to finish paying taxes this year. Kind of. Tax Freedom Day (TFD) came on April 9, but it's an artificial freedom. Massive borrowing this year - the federal deficit is expected to run about $1.6 trillion - guarantees future tax increases.

April 12, 2010

BANDOW: Re-reforming health care

The basic issue of health care reform was simple: Who decides? The Democrats' answer: The government.

March 30, 2010

BANDOW: A champion at meddling

Five years ago, Western governments and nongovernmental organizations did their best to support Ukraine's so-called Orange Revolution, which propelled Viktor Yushchenko into the Ukrainian presidency. But Mr. Yushchenko's performance in office was a disaster; in last month's presidential election, he finished in fifth place with a dismal 5.4 percent. His failure serves as a stark reminder of the risks when Washington intervenes in foreign politics.

February 2, 2010

BOOKS: ‘Conundrum: The Limits of the United Nations and the Search for Alternatives’

The last best hope of mankind. So the United Nations has been termed. If that's true, we should abandon hope. That doesn't mean the U.N. has no value, but it is a highly flawed organization operating well beyond its original purpose and current competence.

December 29, 2009

BOOKS: U.S. culture hostile to capitalist system

Last fall's financial crisis led to more than the usual talk about the end of capitalism -- but what tottered dangerously last year was America's mixed economy, not a true market economy.

December 15, 2009

BOOKS: ‘Engagement with North Korea’

North Korea says it wants to deal, but even the Chinese are no longer confident that the nuclear crisis can be resolved diplomatically. Does any basis remain for engagement? Yes, reply the contributors to "Engagement With North Korea."

September 15, 2009

BOOKS: ‘First Do No Harm’

Even as they criticized the George W. Bush administration for invading Iraq, leading liberals defended Clinton administration war-making in the Balkans. Sharply challenging this positive assessment is David Gibbs of the University of Arizona.

July 28, 2009

BOOK REVIEW: ‘Money, Markets and Sovereignty’

The era of laissez-faire capitalism is over, it is said, as if the era of laissez-faire capitalism ever really began. Still, globalization has helped open markets around the world.

June 23, 2009

SOLUTIONS/BANDOW: Handling America’s homeless families

With the economy in apparent freefall, human needs, including homelessness, have grown. Our starting point should be moral, not political.

May 17, 2009