Top Spook Looks Back on 2016

Michael Morell, former acting head of the CIA, became a political animal in August 2016 when he endorsed Hillary Clinton for president. This month, he came to grips with the consequences of that decision -- that it might have played into President Donald Trump's distrust of the intelligence community.

Trump needs to stand up to China, despite our confrontation with North Korea

North Korea makes the unproven claim that it can hit any place in the continental United States with a missile topped with a nuclear warhead, but America's long-term preeminent strategic concern should continue to be the People's Republic of China. While President Trump remains fixated on North Korea, his own security team and other military experts continue to warn about the Chinese threat to the United States.

Putin says U.S. hurts itself with – invented’ Trump collusion case

Russian President Vladimir Putin scoffed Thursday at allegations of collusion between U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia, saying the reports have been "invented" by Trump's foes and have hurt the U.S. political system. He also mocked his most visible critic, Alexei Navalny, who is barred from challenging Putin in the March 18 presidential vote due to an embezzlement conviction, saying those like him want to plunge Russia into a destabilized quagmire.

Amid North Korea Tensions, a Narrow Diplomatic Window Opens

The pace of nuclear and missile tests has slowed considerably in recent weeks and history suggests it will remain low in the coming weeks It isn't clear how many more windows of opportunity there will be to resolve the confrontation over North Korea's nuclear weapons program peacefully, but one is opening right now. Whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is interested in taking advantage of this chance to avoid disaster is, of course, a different question entirely.

Victor Davis Hanson

Clinton 08/27/15: The modern malleability of gender and race 08/20/15: Big government as the new Terminator 08/13/15: The Trump catharsis 08/06/15: History's complexity should discourage retroactive morality 07/30/15: America needs a sensible approach to illegal immigration 07/23/15: The way of all appeasement 07/16/15: Contrary to progressive belief, human nature can't be changed 07/13/15: Putin's Recipe for Power 07/09/15: America's greatest threat 07/02/15: We are all Californians now 06/25/15: Debt has been redefined as equality and fairness --- abroad and here 06/18/15: The new world map 06/11/15: When everything seemed possible 06/04/15: Crossing the global border 05/28/15: Knocking on war's door 05/21/15: Think like a lib --- or else 05/14/15: The forgotten realities of World War II 05/07/15: No law, no civilization 04/30/15: An ironic drought in California 04/23/15: Clinton vs.

North Korea Says War Is Inevitable Because of Trump’s ‘Warmongering’ Inner CircleNewsweek

North Korea believes the outbreak of a war on the Korean Peninsula is inevitable because of continual provocations from the U.S., including ongoing military drills with South Korea and statements from high-ranking U.S. politicians and officials. In an article published by state-controlled news agency KCNA on Wednesday, a spokesperson for North Korea's Foreign Ministry called the start of war "an established fact."

N. Korea says war is inevitable as allies continue war games

In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, right top, flies over the Korean Peninsula with South Korean fighter jets and U.S. fighter jets during the combined aerial exercise, South Korea, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2017. The United States flew a B-1B supersonic bomber over South Korea on Wednesday in part of a massive combined aerial exercise involving hundreds of warplanes, a clear warning after North Korea last week tested its biggest and most powerful missile yet.

Russian Foreign Ministry Blasts U.S. Over Visas Even As Services Resume

The Russian Foreign Ministry has denounced the United States for continuing to limit the number of visas issued to Russian citizens, even as it welcomed Monday's decision to resume services at U.S. consulates. The two countries have been involved in numerous diplomatic spats since December 2016, when former U.S. President Barack Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats following allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.

US defies North Korea with war drills involving 230 aircraft

The U.S. and South Korea on Monday began a five-day joint air exercise on the Korean peninsula involving 230 aircraft and 12,000 American troops, the allies said in a joint statement. A day before the Vigilant Ace 18 drills, North Korea called for "merciless revenge" and said the nation would consider the "highest-level hard-line countermeasure in history," according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Stealth jets, other aircraft fly in U.S., South Korean drills

A U.S. Air Force U-2s spy plane prepared to land at the Osan U.S. Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Monday. Hundreds of aircraft including two dozen stealth jets began training Monday as the United States and South Korea launched their combined air force exercise.

US, South Korea begin largest-ever joint air drill

The U.S. and South Korea on Dec. 4 kicked off their largest ever joint air exercise, an operation North Korea has labelled an "all-out provocation," days after Pyongyang fired its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile. The five-day Vigilant Ace drill -- involving 230 aircraft, including F-22 Raptor stealth jet fighters, and tens of thousands of troops -- began Monday morning, Seoul's air force said.

Pentagon evaluates West Coast missile defense sites

The U.S. agency tasked with protecting the country from missile attacks is scouting the West Coast for places to deploy new anti-missile defenses, two congressmen said on Saturday, as North Korea's missile tests raise concerns about how the United States would defend itself from an attack. West Coast defenses would likely include Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missiles, similar to those deployed in South Korea to protect against a potential North Korean attack.

Senator: It’s time for US military families to leave SKorea

With reporters looking for updates, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and other senators rush to the chamber to vote on amendments as the Republican leadership works to craft their sweeping tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017. It would mark the first time in 31 years that Congress has overhauled the tax code, making it the biggest legislative achievement of President Donald Trump's first year in office.

US stealth jets arrive in South Korea as North Korean rhetoric heats up

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated over the weekend as US stealth fighters moved into the region and official sources from both North Korea and the US said the chances of war are growing. The bellicose rhetoric from North Korea came in two phases: On Saturday, a statement from its Foreign Ministry said US President Donald Trump is "begging for a nuclear war" through what it called an "extremely dangerous nuclear gamble on the Korean Peninsula"; A day later, a commentary from Pyongyang's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, said US-South Korea joint air exercises scheduled for Monday to Friday are a "dangerous provocation" pushing the region "to the brink of a nuclear war."