Politics

Last year, we noted with some incredulity that when it comes to US foreign policy in the Mid-East, someone inside the Beltway actually "gets it".

That someone is Hawaii Democrat Tulsi Gabbard who knows something about the region thanks to the fact that she served in the Middle East - twice. Now, she’s sponsoring a bipartisan bill to stop what she calls an “illegal” war against the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHkher6ceaA

It’s not necessarily that Gabbard is a fan of Assad.

Noah Rothman wonders if the Rubio campaign should start panicking:

While they are banking that a few third and second place finishes in February can position their candidate well ahead of the March primaries, the damage that will be done to Rubio’s brand if he fails to win at least one of the February contests will be palpable.

As the American middle class shrinks and citizens feel vulnerable and angry, politicians have found that exaggerating the dangers from some bogeyman – “the Muslim terrorists are out to get you!” – works wonders in distracting them from far more serious threats, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar describes. By Paul R. Pillar Journalists have noticed how much current political…

Hospitals in England face major disruption as junior doctors have gone on strike in a dispute with the government over a new contract. In the first walkout of its kind over the past 40 years, the junior doctors are providing only emergency cover during a 24-hour walkout which started Tuesday at 0800 GMT. The strike which is the first of two planned for the coming weeks, went ahead despite a last-minute plea from Prime Minister David Cameron for doctors to call off the action.

Three weeks out from the Iowa caucuses, and clarity emerges.

Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee, is in trouble.

Polls show her slightly ahead of socialist Bernie Sanders in Iowa, but narrowly behind in New Hampshire. And the weekend brought new revelations about yet more classified and secret documents sent over her private email server when she was secretary of state.