Constituent politics in the United States often has a major impact on foreign policy. The ballot box can send a signal in a more direct and, at times, cutting way than any academic debate on foreign policy at a Washington think tank. As any Congressional staffer knows, vocal advocacy by constituents on behalf of … Continue reading Korea and Virginia: The Canary in the Coal Mine?
Immigration
Cambodia: A Violent Summer for a Soprano State

Funeral Procession of Kem Ley in Phnom Penh -- The Cambodia Daily A July 26th event at the Heritage Foundation, titled “Cambodian Democracy and International Accountability,” with renowned journalist and long-time Cambodia expert Elizabeth Becker, drew my thoughts away from my usual East Asian focus. (http://www.heritage.org/events/2016/07/cambodian-democracy-and--international-accountability). I thought again of that tragic yet mystifying Southeast … Continue reading Cambodia: A Violent Summer for a Soprano State
Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers

War-Veterans.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I felt a special connection when I read Mrs. Ghazala Khan’s July 31st column in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ghazala-khan-donald-trump-criticized-my-silence-he-knows-nothing-about-true-sacrifice/2016/07/31/c46e52ec-571c-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html.) She described how she had a son who graduated from UVA and then went on to become an army captain. So did I. My boy was deployed to South … Continue reading Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers