The Destruction of Hezbollah Is an Opportunity for Lebanon
Plus: the America Firster who loves America's enemies...
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BRIAN STEWART: The Destruction of Hezbollah Is an Opportunity for Lebanon
AS FAR-FETCHED AS IT MIGHT SEEM TODAY, Lebanon was once regarded as the Switzerland of the Middle East: small, multi-confessional, polyglot, picturesque. But Lebanon never approached the drab stability for which Switzerland is universally known. And the feebleness of the Lebanese state prevented it from mimicking Switzerland’s famed neutrality. A weak nation, as Alexander Hamilton pointed out, forfeits even the privilege of being neutral.
But there was a time when Lebanon was at peace with itself and at home in the modern world. The specter of violence, from within or without, was just a specter. Lebanon’s culture featured pluralism and consensual politics, which grew out of its unique status as a Levantine country without a religious majority. The composition of various confessions and communities had bred a fragile but tangible equilibrium that allowed for a modicum of liberalism, especially in cosmopolitan Beirut. It stood out in the Middle East.
WILL SALETAN: Don’t Let Trump Fool You, He Was Never Exonerated
DONALD TRUMP IS TRYING TO rewrite his history as a criminal defendant.
A few days ago on Meet the Press, the president-elect said he’d been exonerated in the cases against him. “I’ve won these cases. I’ve won every one, and the rest are in the process of being won,” he declared.
Then, on Wednesday, Trump celebrated the resignation—which he had overtly encouraged—of FBI Director Christopher Wray. He claimed that under Wray, “the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause,” and “worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me.”
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Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller: Matt Yglesias and Tyler Austin Harper: Popularism v Populism [YouTube]
Bulwark+ Live:
The Michael Steele Podcast: Democrats Must Learn from Republicans on How to be Better Messengers (with Brian Tyler Cohen)
Shield of the Republic: A Catastrophic Blow to Putin
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MONA CHAREN: The America Firster Who Loves America’s Enemies
GLANCE THROUGH ANY POST-ELECTION voter interview and you will inevitably find someone who mentions “America First” when explaining his or her vote. It goes without saying that the ignominy that attached to the 1930s-era slogan after Pearl Harbor is long forgotten. Voters may insert their own preferences into the term—with some emphasizing trade and others focusing on ending foreign aid—but a throughline is the belief that Trump is a strong leader who will steadfastly pursue America’s national interests.
Sorry, but that is deluded. Even by the strongman standard, Trump is not securing America. His nominees are not just unqualified, they are anti-qualified. If he were attempting to sabotage America’s interests, it’s hard to see how he would do things differently.
GISELLE DONNELLY: Bad Days for Iran and Russia—But Will the U.S. Seize the Opportunity?
BISMARCK PROBABLY DID NOT REALLY SAY that “God had a special providence for fools, drunkards, and the United States,” but the aphorism has survived because it so often appears true.
We are at such a moment now. The combination of Eastern Europeans’ refusal to submit to Vladimir Putin’s imperialist ambitions and the fracturing of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” proxies has created a huge window of geopolitical opportunity that the Biden administration did very little to create. And, alas, it is likely to be a window that the Trump administration will slam shut. Nonetheless, providence is smiling on us just now.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
From the archives…. The Forever War on Christmas: It’s only being fought from one side.
Why the U.S. military… is reactivating abandoned WWII airfields in the Pacific. (WSJ)
A conversation with Jack Goldsmith… on Trump and the administrative state. (Conversations with Bill Kristol)
Nancy Mace, call your office… And please log out of your burner account.
Trump invites his bestie1 to the inauguration… But it doesn’t look like President Xi is going to come. (NPR)
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.
This is why I call them #besties. Never forget that for nearly 2 months at the beginning of COVID Trump just took China’s word.
