By Patrick J. Buchanan

“My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war,” said from Bagram Air Base.

“Here in the predawn darkness, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. The War is over. The number of troops in harm’s way has been cut in half, and more will be coming home. … The time of war began in , and this is where it will end.”

By Patrick J. Buchanan

“I wish to express my deep regret for the reported incident. … I extend to you and the Afghan people my sincere apologies.”

As President Obama sent this letter of apology to Hamid Karzai for the burning by U.S. troops of Qurans that were used to smuggle notes between Afghan prisoners, two U.S. soldiers were murdered in reprisal.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Our War Party has been temporarily diverted from its clamor for war on Iran by the insurrection against the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Estimates of the dead since the Syrian uprising began a year ago approach 6,000. And responsibility for the carnage is being laid at the feet of the president who succeeded his dictator-father Hafez al-Assad, who ruled from 1971 until his death in 2000.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

For the 30 years since “The McLaughlin Group” began to run on network television, the Christmas and New Year’s shows have been devoted to the conferring of annual awards.

The first award on the Christmas show is “Biggest Winner.”

This year, clearly, one of the world’s big winner was — Islam.

For this was the year when what apologist Hilaire Belloc predicted in 1938 would be the “second period of Islamic power” became manifest to all mankind.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In Cairo in 1943, when the tide had turned in the on Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, who had embraced Joseph Stalin as an ally and acceded to his every demand, had a premonition.

Conversing with Harold Macmillan, Churchill blurted:

“Cromwell was a great man, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, sir, a very great man,” Macmillan replied.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In deciding to pull all of the 30,000 troops from the surge out of Afghanistan, six weeks before Election Day 2012, but only 10,000 by year’s end, President Obama has satisfied neither the generals nor the doves.

He has, however, well served his political interests.

A larger drawdown would have risked the gains made in Kandahar and Helmand and invited a revolt of the generals, some of whom might resign and denounce Obama for denying them the forces to prevail.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Late last month, when U.S. air strikes caused civilian casualties in , an angry Hamid Karzai issued an ultimatum.

If future U.S. strikes are not restricted, we will take “unilateral action” and America may be treated like an “occupying power.”

That brought this blistering retort from one Republican hawk.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

“We need to be honest with the president, with the Congress, with the American people” about the consequences of cutting the defense budget, said Secretary of Defense in his valedictory policy address to the American Enterprise Institute.

“(A) smaller , no matter how superb, will be able to go fewer places and do fewer things.”

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