sanctions

The U.S. trade deficit dropped to its lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years in October, suggesting trade could contribute to economic growth in the fourth quarter and the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, hitting their lowest level in seven months, indicating the labor market remains solid.

The United States is right not to stand by idly and witness injustice. More should be done. This would be a good moment for Trump to affirm that the Islamic Republic of Iran is an illegitimate government and that Iranians have every right to overthrow it and forge a new democratic government. Trump should make this clear, but without endorsing any particular alternative Iranian political group. Such a statement would show that America does not view Iranian politics as President Barack Obama once did — as a morally nuanced or complex question. After all, in the streets of Iran's cities and towns, Khamenei's government is now showing that there is nothing complex or nuanced about his regime's nature or its regard for Iranians.

How many quarrels, conflicts and wars, and with how many adversaries, can even the mighty United States sustain? A list of America’s adversaries here would contain the Taliban, the Houthis of Yemen, Bashar Assad of Syria, Erdogan’s Turkey, Iran, North Korea, Russia and China—a pretty full plate. Are we prepared to see these confrontations through, to assure the capitulation of our adversaries? What do we do if they continue to defy us? And if it comes to a fight, how many allies will we have in the battles and wars that follow?

U.S. threats to crush Iran and North Korea may yet work, but as of now neither Tehran nor Pyongyang appears to be intimidated. Where, then, are we headed? Surely, a partial, verifiable nuclear disarmament of North Korea is preferable to war on the peninsula. And, surely, a new nuclear deal with Iran with restrictions on missiles is preferable to war in the Gulf. Again, we cannot make the perfect the enemy of the good.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was right to reaffirm his support of sanctions last week, but merely keeping sanctions in place is not enough. Instead of waiting for the next test or the latest move from Pyongyang, Washington should immediately begin imposing sanctions on both North Korean and third-party entities. We’ve spent nearly three decades wondering what North Korea would do next. It’s time for North Korea to fear what America will do next.

Taking NATO membership off the table would remove Moscow’s incentive to keep the Ukrainian conflict alive. Ukraine could develop economically and politically as it wished. Sanctions could end, encouraging economic integration from Europe through Ukraine onto Russia.

So, who’s crazy? President Trump, who is trying to undo the national security disasters shady Senator Bob Corker facilitated on behalf of Barack Obama, or establishment Republicans, like Michael Gerson, who take the side of the shady Senator from Tennessee?

The administration’s best shot would be to mix diplomacy and sanctions in an initiative backed by the Chinese. But winning that assistance requires persuasion rather than compulsion. The administration must convince Beijing that pressing the North further is in China’s interest as well as America’s interest.

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster's guidance to President Trump that he should falsely certify that Iran is in compliance with the Obama nuclear deal amounts to looking the other way on Iran’s violations and is little different than what Hillary Clinton would have done if she had won the 2016 election.

There is no magic solution to the North Korea Problem. But military action should be a last resort, reserved for preempting a direct and imminent threat that doesn’t presently exist. Washington must avoid triggering the Second Korean War.

Fortunately, for America and for those who voted for Trump because of his stated goal of undoing the Obama – Clinton foreign policy blunders, such as the disastrous Iran nuclear deal, we have assurance from our friend Fred Fleitz that Trump hasn’t abandoned his plans to dump the Iran deal.

The circumstances of Obama’s enormous cash transfer to our terrorist enemies raise serious questions about whether American policy against paying ransoms to terrorists has been flouted. But that should not obscure a more fundamental issue: The president has violated the law.

There was and remains much about which to criticize Sudan’s government. However, U.S. sanctions have lost any purpose they once may have had. Most important for American Christians, the sanctions hurt believers already living and worshipping in difficult circumstances. The world has changed since sanctions were first imposed. Washington’s policy toward Sudan should change as well.

Cruz criticized Obama for what he said was five years of showing weakness. He wouldn’t commit to voting for Ukrainian aid, but argued that neither this nor conservative calls for military exercises are the right approach.