Washington’s Inadvertent Support for Cuban Communism

Havana, Cuba—Roberto Alarcón, well-dressed but of unexceptional appearance, is thought to be the No. 3 man in Cuba, after only Fidel and Raúl Castro. He lazily sprawled in his chair before eight American journalists, fondling his cigar. Asked about Havana’s willingness to negotiate with the United States over its embargo against his country, Alarcón responded: [...]

A War to End All Banditry

Even before the United States wound down its military operations in Afghanistan, it began looking for targets elsewhere. But policymakers must remember that Washington’s primary interest is thwarting transnational terrorists who target Americans, not combating local criminals and insurgents around the globe. After just three months, the Taliban was overthrown, the al Qaeda network was [...]

Making Terrorists Pay

If there is one lesson the United States must teach after the September 11 atrocities, it is that terrorism does not pay. Washington should allow, indeed encourage, victims of terrorism to go after the assets of the perpetrators. A pregnant widow of one of the victims of the World Trade Center attack was the first [...]

Let Our Allies Defend Themselves

Doug Bandow, a nationally syndicated columnist, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author and editor of several books. When U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Canberra for the annual AUSMIN (Australia-US Ministerial) consultations earlier this year, mutterings of disappointment were heard. Peter Hartcher of the [...]

A Maturing Europe?

Doug Bandow, a nationally syndicated columnist, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author and editor of several books. Although the Bush administration has promised not to withdraw unilaterally from the Balkans, leading Europeans remain nervous about the administration. They recognize his reluctance to continue their continent’s free defense ride, especially as [...]

Letting Competition Reign

Doug Bandow, a nationally syndicated columnist, is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author and editor of several books. Postage rates rose at the beginning of the year. It costs another penny for regular first class. And an extra 20 cents to send a letter overseas. Bulk-rate mailing is also a lot [...]

Deliver Us from Evil: Peacekeepers, Warlords and a World of Endless Conflict by William Shawcross

Simon & Schuster • 2000 • 413 pages • $27.50 The end of the Cold War led many people to hope for a new world order in which the United Nations would impose peace around the globe. But that dream died in the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, and in villages across Rwanda. It died along [...]

Making Environmental Tradeoffs

Wealthy countries have it easy. Their citizens are richer. Their people enjoy healthier and safer environments. Yet Western nations are hindering Third World people from improving their lives—in the name of the environment.

Malaria is seen as a poor nation’s disease, but it once afflicted today’s industrialized states. Decades ago people in the United States and Europe suffered from this, one of history’s most ravaging diseases. But malaria has essentially disappeared in the West.

The Robert Downey Jr. Problem

Drugs can exercise a powerful hold over a human being. What other lesson is possible from the arrest of actor Robert Downey Jr., yet again, on drug charges?

His life is a tragedy: a gifted actor, with access to the sort of money and fame of which most people only dream, succumbs to drugs and ends up in jail. His latest arrest came only three months after being released from prison.