Lee Smith
Lee Smith is a senior editor at The Weekly Standard. A senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, Smith is the also author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations (Doubleday 2010).
Stories by Lee Smith
Trump's Travel Ban Addressed Real Problems
Now we need a debate on how to get it right.
4:01 PM, Feb 13, 2017
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a nationwide temporary injunction on President Trump's executive order relating to refugees and visas from seven Muslim-majority countries. The White House says it will not take the case to the Supreme Court, but is rather drafting a version of the executive order that administration officials believe will get past the courts. Perhaps. The unhappy reality is that the 9th Circuit Court's decision and much of the debate surround Read more
Impossible Dream
Trump won't be able to talk Putin out of his alliance with Iran.
Feb 20, 2017
Since President Trump’s election, American allies and other foreign policy observers have been curious to know how the new White House intends to resolve an apparent contradiction. How is it possible that Trump seems keen to make some sort of deal with Vladimir Putin while expressing belligerent contempt for Russia's key Middle East ally, Iran? There may be an answer: Recent press reports indicate the Trump team will try to lure Russia away from Iran. The chances for success are slim. Moscow a Read more
Putting Iran on Notice
8:10 PM, Feb 01, 2017
During a White House briefing Wednesday afternoon, spokesman Sean Spicer brought National Security Adviser Mike Flynn to the podium to deliver a prepared statement offering more detail on Iran's recent "destabilizing behavior" in the region. On Sunday Iran conducted a ballistic missile test, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which calls upon Iran "not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including Read more
Not A Muslim Ban
7:30 PM, Jan 29, 2017
The White House seems to be backing away from aspects of President Trump's executive order on immigration. Chief of staff Reince Priebus explained Sunday morning that green card holders from the seven countries specified in the order—Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen—would not be prevented from returning to the United States. That will do little to please the opponents of the executive order, thousands of which have protested at airports around the country. Even Trump support Read more
Gabbard's Assad Trip--Courtesy of an Anti-Semitic Middle East Organization
10:15 AM, Jan 26, 2017
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, admitted to CNN that she met Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on her recent secret 4-day " fact-finding " trip to Damascus. "I did so because I felt that it's important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering," then we've got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace," Gabbard told Jake Tapper of meeting with the man who along with his allies, Iran, Hez Read more
Brennan, the Russian Dossier and Obama's Grand Political Strategy
What matters most to Obama is political warfare against his domestic enemies.
7:51 AM, Jan 19, 2017
John Brennan says he didn't leak the dossier that connected Donald Trump to Russia. As the outgoing CIA director told the Wall Street Journal , "First of all, this is not intelligence community information." Brennan noted, the Journal reported, "that the dossier had been circulating "many months" and that he first heard about it from inquiring reporters last fall." // The Obama-appointed intelligence chief appears to be employing one of the standard techniques of the White House Read more
'Wet Foot, Dry Foot' Change Is Obama's Latest Trap for Trump
12:42 PM, Jan 13, 2017
On Thursday, President Obama announced an end to the "wet foot, dry foot" policy that allowed most Cuban migrants who reach the United States to become legal permanent residents after one year. "Effective immediately, Cuban nationals who attempt to enter the United States illegally and do not qualify for humanitarian relief will be subject to removal," said Obama. "By taking this step, we are treating Cuban migrants the same way we treat migrants from other countries." The change in policy Read more
Love and Rage
Nat Hentoff, 1925-2017.
Jan 23, 2017
Nat Hentoff—columnist, music critic, jazz lover, civil libertarian, atheist, pro-life intellectual opposed to abortion and the death penalty—was prolific and productive up until the end of his life. He died last week of natural causes at the age of 91. He was so expansive in his interests and enthusiasms and commitments that there were aspects of his long career in journalism that even many fans and colleagues were unaware of, like the fact that he was a boxing writer early on. "He used to talk Read more
The Bizarre Trump Dossier
And who it actually harms.
4:44 PM, Jan 11, 2017
In his first press conference since being elected president, Donald Trump thanked the media. He praised news outfits that didn't publish a story about a document that describes alleged Russian efforts to compromise him, even though many of those news organizations had the story for months and held on to it. The two press outfits that did publish the story , CNN and BuzzFeed , got whipped by the president-elect. Trump called them "fake news" and refused to take questions from reporters repres Read more
A Disaster He's Proud Of
Jan 16, 2017
The Obama chapter in American foreign policy ends like the climax of an action movie—with a fireball growing in the distance and filling the screen as a man in silhouette approaches in slow motion and then veers off camera. Barack Obama has set the Middle East on fire, and now it's spreading. The Obama administration's nuclear agreement with Iran has emboldened the world's leading state sponsor of terror, which now makes war openly in four Arab states (Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen) and is a gro Read more
Why Russia May Have Interfered In the Election
Putin could have been looking for revenge against the Obama administration.
5:30 AM, Dec 16, 2016
Is the CIA, or some part of it, angry with Donald Trump? Even before the president-elect perhaps unwisely insulted the agency by citing its failures to assess correctly the status of Saddam Hussein's WMD program, someone high up at the CIA seemed to have it in for the incoming commander-in-chief. First, CIA director John Brennan last month publicly warned Trump not to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran. Crashing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, said Brennan, would be "disastrous"—"the Read more
What Game Is Russia Playing?
The two separate questions about Putin's possible interference.
2:59 PM, Dec 12, 2016
Reports Friday that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential campaign to tilt the election in favor of Donald Trump have sown precisely the kind of confusion that American adversaries must have hoped for with their actions. In an effort to reach some sort of clarity, let's break the matter down into two separate questions—Was it Russia that hacked the Democratic National Committee's servers? Did the culprits hack the servers in order to secure a Trump victory Read more
The Verdict on Castro
Reinaldo Arenas deserves the last word.
Dec 12, 2016
Upon the death of Fidel Castro last month, President Obama remarked, “History will record and judge the enormous impact of this singular figure on the people and world around him." The statement was cowardly in striving for judicious balance to describe the legacy of a dictator who jailed and murdered thousands over the course of five decades. It was also wrong: History has already judged Castro, and the verdict is damning. This history is documented not in the cursory statements of presidents Read more
Phone Home
From the December 5, 2016, issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
7:20 AM, Nov 29, 2016
I called my mother on her 80th birthday last month. My brothers and sister and I were emailing each other as we've done every birthday of hers since she died more than six years ago. One of them remarked, "You know her phone is still working, right? You can hear her voice on her outgoing message." It hadn't occurred to me before. I called immediately. "Hi," my mom said. "I'm not here right now. But you know what to do." Of course, what she meant about knowing what to do was to leave a messag Read more
Phone Home
Lee Smith phones home.
Dec 05, 2016
I called my mother on her 80th birthday last month. My brothers and sister and I were emailing each other as we’ve done every birthday of hers since she died more than six years ago. One of them remarked, "You know her phone is still working, right? You can hear her voice on her outgoing message." It hadn't occurred to me before. I called immediately. "Hi," my mom said. "I'm not here right now. But you know what to do." Of course, what she meant about knowing what to do was to leave a messag Read more
Tevi Troy on Responding to National Disasters, and Preparing for Future Threats
A conversation with the former George W. Bush administration health official.
12:45 PM, Nov 22, 2016
Perhaps the most cheering aspect of our American democracy is the optimism meeting a new president and his administration. In two months, Donald Trump will move into the White House and bring with him a host of ideas and people to implement them in order to advance the interests of American citizens, and ensure the welfare, safety, and liberty of our families, friends, and neighbors. History has left us plenty of evidence, however, that fate has unpleasant surprises in store for new presidents, Read more
The Iran Deal Is Doomed
From the November 28, 2016, issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
10:30 AM, Nov 20, 2016
Will President-elect Donald Trump crash the Iran deal on day one, as he said on the campaign trail? If so, Barack Obama's signature foreign policy initiative, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will melt into air. Obama allies and Iran deal supporters at home and abroad are already showing their anxiety. The president-elect shouldn't tear up the agreement, argues the National Iranian American Council, a key voice in the administration's deal-promoting echo chamber. NIAC's Reza Mar Read more
Doomed Deal
Nov 28, 2016
Will President-elect Donald Trump crash the Iran deal on day one, as he said on the campaign trail? If so, Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy initiative, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will melt into air. Obama allies and Iran deal supporters at home and abroad are already showing their anxiety. The president-elect shouldn't tear up the agreement, argues the National Iranian American Council, a key voice in the administration's deal-promoting echo chamber. NIAC's Reza Mar Read more
Undoing the Iran Deal? Easy.
From the November 21, 2016, issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
7:00 AM, Nov 15, 2016
The election of Donald Trump signals bad news for the Iran nuclear deal, Barack Obama's signature foreign policy initiative. Calling it "the worst deal ever negotiated," the author of The Art of the Deal has threatened to tear up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on day one of his presidency. Supporters of the agreement and Obama allies warn that shredding the deal will only benefit Iranian hardliners, the very people it was supposed to restrain. "The big winner in the aftermath of a Tr Read more
The Lebanese Army Is Misusing U.S. Aid
And that should come with consequences.
4:27 PM, Nov 14, 2016
Over the weekend, pictures of a Hezbollah parade in the Syrian city of Qusayr showed Hezbollah fighters using American-made M113 armored personnel carriers (APCs). If the vehicles were transferred by the Lebanese Armed Forces, a recipient of U.S. aid and equipment, to Hezbollah, as some analysts have speculated, the consequences could be significant. After all, the purpose of American support for the LAF is to strengthen it to fight terrorism, which includes Hezbollah. However, this recent epi Read more
The Art of Undoing the Iran Deal
It won't be difficult.
Nov 21, 2016
The election of Donald Trump signals bad news for the Iran nuclear deal, Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy initiative. Calling it "the worst deal ever negotiated," the author of The Art of the Deal has threatened to tear up the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on day one of his presidency. Supporters of the agreement and Obama allies warn that shredding the deal will only benefit Iranian hardliners, the very people it was supposed to restrain. "The big winner in the aftermath of a Tr Read more
Setting the Record Straight on Israel
A conversation with Middle East expert Martin Kramer.
5:16 AM, Nov 07, 2016
Martin Kramer is the founding president of Shalem College in Jerusalem, where he also chairs the department of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies. He is the author of several books, including Ivory Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle East Studies in America , and The War on Error: Israel, Islam, and the Middle East , which has just been released by Transaction Publishers. Kramer is not only a distinguished scholar of the Middle East who writes with an eye to the past as well as the pre Read more
Presiding over Chaos
The meaning of Michel Aoun's election.
Nov 14, 2016
On October 31, the Lebanese parliament elected Michel Aoun president, ending a two-and-a-half-year stalemate during which the country had no head of state. The presidency is reserved for the country’s Maronite Christian sect, so Christians there are celebrating the election of the controversial 81-year-old former general as a gesture of reconciliation for an often divided community. The excitement is unlikely to last. The presidency is one of the last remaining tokens of the Maronites' fading po Read more
Dante and Journo
Exploring the poet's home town, where even some Florentines have become tourists.
3:14 PM, Oct 26, 2016
Florence, Italy "Dante is definitely a typical Florentine guy," says Tommaso Ranfagni, a 33-year-old art historian and consummate Florentine. "Dante is sharp, straightforward, and he thinks his city is the best anywhere. He has opinions about other people, which he expresses clearly and directly. He has opinions about everyone. Dante is a pain in the ass." It never occurred to me to think of one of the pillars of world civilization as a local guy, but it makes sense. He's often speaking abou Read more
The Cubs Swing and Miss
What Chicago is up against after striking out 15 times in the World Series opener.
1:20 PM, Oct 26, 2016
The Cleveland Indians pitching staff was masterful Tuesday night, but they had an awful lot of help from the Cubs, who struck out 15 times . Starter Corey Kluber had nine in six innings, stud reliever Andrew Miller had three over two innings, and closer Cody Allen struck out the side in the ninth. A friend with many years' experience in organized baseball, including at the major league level, called Wednesday morning to say he wasn't surprised the Indians looked good and the Cubs struggled. " Read more
Time for a Face Off Between the Cubs and Indians
This Fall Classic comes in twos.
6:11 PM, Oct 25, 2016
The World Series this year feels a little like Noah's Ark, or John Woo's Face Off —lots of stuff in twos. Like Theo and Terry. The Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein built the long suffering NL franchise into a winner, just like he did with the Boston Red Sox, which won the 2004 and 2007 World Series under Terry Francona, who will be in the opposing dugout Tuesday night filling out the lineup card for the Cleveland Indians. There are two young star infielders, Indians Read more
Washington Post Tells Readers to Ignore the Inconvenient Facts of the Iran Deal
3:00 PM, Oct 24, 2016
Over the weekend the Washington Post published a review of Jay Solomon's book, The Iran Wars , written by New York Times reporter Elaine Sciolino. That one of America's top three remaining newspapers assigned a review of a book written by a reporter from another of the big three ( Solomon is a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal ) to a reporter at the third, illustrates how much the media environment has shrunk. Even more telling was the nature of the review, which concludes wit Read more
Terror and a Generation of Nihilists: A Conversation with Olivier Roy
5:00 AM, Oct 19, 2016
Olivier Roy is one of France's most distinguished scholars of Islam, and author of, among many other books, Globalized Islam , Holy Ignorance , and The Failure of Political Islam . Joint-chair of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies and Political and Social Sciences department at the European University Institute in Florence, Roy has lately been involved in a lively debate with his colleague Gilles Kepel, another major French scholar, concerning the relationship between Islam Read more
The Nobel Committee Honors a Great American Art Form
Bob Dylan is folk singer, not a poet.
11:03 AM, Oct 13, 2016
The Nobel Prize committee awarded Bob Dylan with the prize for literature Thursday, which will no doubt prove to be a controversial selection. The issue is not that Dylan is yet another obscure figure the committee named apparently to score political points, nor that he writes in a language little known outside a relatively small community of native speakers. The issue rather is that it's not clear that the lyrics that Dylan, aka Minnesota's own Robert Zimmerman, has been writing for more than Read more
What Happened in the Wild Card Games? Baseball
6:19 PM, Oct 06, 2016
The next round of October baseball is underway Thursday afternoon with the Texas Rangers hosting the Toronto Blue Jays (the Boston Red Sox are in Cleveland to play the Indians Thursday), but for some people that's not enough. Instead of enjoying the baseball, some folks are sweating the ballplayers. Take Buster Olney, for instance—he wants to know what Madison Bumgarner wants his legacy as a pitcher to be. "Oh man, why you asking me all these hard questions?" said the 27-year-old southpaw af Read more
