By appointing Susan Rice as his National Security Advisor, President Obama proved his loyalty to his friends but also showed questionable concern for the real security threats facing the United States.

Rice was the President’s first choice to replace former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but her appointment was quickly shut down by the Senate, Heritage Foundation national security expert Steven Bucci writes.

Rice was the frontrunner to replace Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State until her credibility was destroyed over mishandling the truth of the terrorist murders of four Americans in Benghazi. She simply became radioactive and clearly would never pass Senate confirmation.

What was President Obama’s response to the Senate’s rejection? He appointed his friend to a position that didn’t require approval from anyone. Continue Reading »

President Obama has been very slow to respond to Syria’s use of chemical weapons.

In a speech in December 2012, he argued that the use of chemical weapons in that country’s civil war would be a “game changer.” Yet despite recent credible reports that President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has used such weapons, President Obama is urging restraint and arguing for verification before taking any action.

That may not be the whole story, though. Continue Reading »

Very valuable. One participant in The Heritage Foundation’s George C. Marshall Fellows Program sent the following praise to Heritage vice president James Carafano:

As a George C. Marshall Fellow, I’ve been invited to conversations that don’t happen nearly often enough – those that discuss the long term strategic goals of the United States (U.S.). Importantly, the program brings together other young professionals to debate and discuss national security and foreign policy issues outside of what is happening this week in Washington. I feel that these discussions have not only been productive internally in shaping a group of young leader’s opinions, but our ideas are also projected outward as we spread our conclusions to networks outside the Marshall Program and The Heritage Foundation. Frankly, we need more consistent, planned, and serious discussion about where we want our country to land in this century. I very much appreciate that Heritage’s program brought me to the table to weigh in on these issues, and I hope the program will continue for young leaders in the future.

Initiated last spring, the Marshall Fellows Program educates future foreign policy leaders about conservative ideas. In addition to learning the particulars of foreign policy, fellows interact with Heritage foreign policy experts and engage in projects that will shape them into effective leaders who can incorporate America’s traditions, values, and worldwide responsibilities into a grand strategy.

Do you think programs like this are valuable?

Members of Heritage's Young Leaders program.

To build the conservative movement, The Heritage Foundation focuses considerable attention on educating and training rising young leaders.

For example, we have identified more than two dozen promising young professionals working on Capitol Hill or in other public policy roles for a workshop this week on foreign policy and national security. The program—developed, organized and run by our very own young professionals here at Heritage—aims not only to educate participants on policy but to teach the next generation how to lead, motivate, and influence their peers.

Organizing this event are Heritage’s own young professionals from our Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies.

Continue Reading »

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It’s no secret American leadership in the world is growing weaker. Our decreasing influence can be traced to the Obama Doctrine.

With his goal to make the United States “an equal partner” rather than an “exceptional” nation, President Obama has sought to remake American foreign policy. For years, The Heritage Foundation has explored and tracked the Obama Doctrine. Heritage’s Helle Dale explains the four main tenets identified by authors Kim Holmes and James Carafano. They are:

1. Ratification of more treaties and reliance on international organizations more often to deal with global crises and security concerns like nuclear weapons, often before turning to our traditional friends and allies;
2. Emphasis on diplomacy and “soft power” instruments such as summits and foreign aid to promote its aims and downplay military might;
3. Adoption of a more humble attitude in state-to-state relations; and
4. Playing a more restrained role on the international stage.

Becoming weaker in the world’s eye is not advantageous for the U.S..  Dale explains:

Soft power has not advanced the cause of political reform or peace in the Middle East following the Arab uprisings. And regimes like those of Syria, North Korea, and Iran display little fear of consequences from a U.S. in global retreat.

While the Obama Doctrine has made America weaker abroad, he has pushed for a stronger and more intrusive government at home. Recent scandals aside (IRS, AP spying, Benghazi), Obamacare is a prime example of a power-grab. As Heritage president  Jim DeMint wrote in yesterday’s Morning Bell, Obamacare is a means by which President Obama can jockey for more power through the IRS: “ Obamacare grants it (IRS) massive new authority.”

Do you think President Obama needs to reevaluate his policy priorities?

Heritage President Jim DeMint’s expansion of The Heritage Foundation’s “‘can do’ approach offers conservatives the hope that empirical evidence and good ideas can actually win the day, so right reason can find its way into law,” columnist Quin Hillyer writes in the American Spectator.

Hilyer chatted briefly with DeMint about Heritage’s future:

“We’re not going to change the scholarly approach to research and development of policies,” he said. “That’s not going to change. But Heritage can become more of an emissary, so to speak, of those policies. We will be doing more to energize the grass roots.” Specifically, he said, Heritage would be partnering with the conservative state policy think tanks which “are really a key to our approach to turning Washington around.” He wants to help “give them the muscle… to push their initiatives.” It’s all part of what he called, during his formal speech, an emphasis on “competitive federalism,” to take policy decisions out of Washington and let states “compete for the best business environment, the best tax code, the best education system.”

In other words, yes and no. Yes, Heritage — and its sister, the more overtly political Heritage Action 501(c)(4) organization — will be more activist in terms of trying to mobilize or catalyze political action. But no, it “won’t change our core mission” of policy research.

Do you think Heritage’s approach can beat the liberals and help enact conservative solutions?

Keiko Hiromi/Polaris/Newscom

In the wake of this week’s tragic attacks, including the Boston bombing and the ricin-laced letters sent to , policymakers need to refocus on effective homeland security solutions.

The first purpose of federal government is to protect its citizens. For this reason, The Heritage Foundation has long been focused on developing homeland security policies that keep the U.S. safe and prosperous, as seen in the following reports.

Eight Heritage reports summarized on Heritage.org can serve as a guide to future reforms: Continue Reading »

Margaret Thatcher, former British Prime Minister and Patron of The Heritage Foundation, passed away Monday morning. A great champion of individual liberty and freedom, her death will be mourned by all who support principled conservative values.

Lady Thatcher was a conviction politician, and believed firmly that without American leadership, this world is a far more dangerous place. And, in order to protect and advance her legacy in the United States, she established the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at Heritage in 2005. Deciding to found the center in Washington, rather than London, proved her immense faith in American global leadership.

Nile Gardiner, the director of Heritage’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, expressed how imperative it is for us to carry on Lady Thatcher’s legacy:

It’s important for us to remember the importance of moving forward with core conservative beliefs. If Heritage does not defend these very values that Margaret Thatcher fought for, then America will be a far less prosperous society — a society that does not hold onto the beliefs of individual freedom, individual liberty. And for Margaret Thatcher, individual liberty, individual freedom, are what makes the United States a great nation.

How will you uphold Lady Thatcher’s legacy?

Photo: Newscom

In the latest development in its long history of belligerence, North Korea is threatening  preemptive nuclear attacks against the U.S.

Unfortunately, cuts to defense may limit America’s ability to deter or defend against attack, The Heritage Foundation’s Nick Zahn writes. “The bottom line,” he explains, “is that as U.S. capability erodes, warfighters will be unable to provide the necessary credible deterrence to maintain peace—not just on the Korean peninsula, but elsewhere in the world where the U.S. has critical national interests. Nor in a conflict will they be assured victory with the least possible U.S. and allied casualties.”

But the communist government isn’t just a threat to other countries. It’s a threat to its own people.

Since North Korea is essentially an isolated military slave labor camp for its rulers, information is hard to gather. Hard to gather, but not impossible, as Heritage’s Olivia Enos explains: Continue Reading »

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

The Obama Doctrine, a foreign policy based on “leading from behind,” has not served America well. “Not only is America’s standing in the world weaker,” The Heritage Foundation’s Luke Coffey wrote last fall, ”the world is also more dangerous than before.”

During his first official visit to Israel this, Heritage’s Amy Payne explains, Obama had to assuage our ally’s concerns:

In his first visit to Israel as President, Obama is attempting to smooth things over with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after some tense years. Obama said yesterday, “The United States is proud to stand with you as your strongest ally and your greatest friend.” But differences remain between Obama and Netanyahu on the best way to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon—a threat to both Israel and the United States.

Continue Reading »