By Patrick J. Buchanan

In August 2008, as the world’s leaders gathered in Beijing for the Olympic games, Georgian President , hot-headed and erratic, made his gamble for greatness.

It began with a stunning artillery barrage on Tskhinvali, capital of tiny South Ossetia, a province that had broken free of Tbilisi when Tbilisi broke free of Russia. As Ossetians and Russian peacekeepers fell under the Georgian guns, terrified Ossetians fled into Russia.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In deciding to pull all of the 30,000 troops from the surge out of , 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

“The most successful alliance in history,” it was called at the end of the Cold in which NATO, for 40 years, deterred the Red Army from overrunning Berlin or crashing through West Germany to the Channel.

And when that Cold was over, Sen. Richard Lugar famously said, “Either NATO goes out of area or goes out of business.”

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Late last month, when U.S. air strikes caused civilian casualties in Afghanistan, 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.”

By Patrick J. Buchanan

In 1918, the United States proved militarily decisive in the defeat of the Kaiser’s Germany and emerged as first power on earth.

World II, ending in 1945, produced two truly victorious nations, the Soviet Union of Joseph Stalin and the America of Harry Truman.

Out of the that lasted from Truman to the disintegration of the Soviet Empire and breakup of the Soviet Union at the end of Ronald Reagan’s term came a lone victor: the last superpower, the United States.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

With his order to effect the execution of Osama bin Laden by Navy SEALs, 40 miles from Islamabad, without asking permission of the government, made a bold and courageous decision.

Its success, and the accolades he has received, have given him a credibility as commander in chief that he never had before.

The law professor, it turns out, is a gunslinger.

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Of our Libyan intervention, one thing may be safely said, and another safely predicted.

When he launched his strikes on the Libyan army and regime, did not think it through. And this nation is now likely to be drawn even deeper into that .

For ’s forces not only survived the U.S. air and missile strikes, after which we turned the air over to , his forces have since shown themselves superior to the rebels. Without , the rebels would have been routed a month ago.

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