“This week, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels seized control of the Yemeni government, heretofore pro-American. In September, they overran Sanaa, the capital. On Tuesday, they seized the presidential palace. On Thursday, they forced the president to resign.” GovernmentPresidentWeekPresidentialRebelSeptemberPalacesNotableIranianTuesdayThursday Author:Charles Krauthammer
“The Houthi have local religious grievances, being Shiites in a majority Sunni land. But they are also agents of Shiite Iran, which arms, trains, and advises them. Their slogan - 'God is great. Death to America. Death to Israel' - could have been written in Persian.” Has BeensAmericaReligiousWrittenLandArmsMajorityTrainIsraelLocalsAgentsIranCould Have BeenAdviseSlogansNotableGrievancePersianGod Is Great Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Why should we care about the coup? First, because we depend on Yemen's government to support our drone war against another local menace, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). It's not clear if we can even maintain our embassy in Yemen, let alone conduct operations against AQAP. And second, because growing Iranian hegemony is a mortal threat to our allies and interests in the entire Middle East.” IfsShouldFirstsWarGovernmentCareInterestSupportClearGrowingMiddleDependsThreatEastLocalsMortalsOperationsAlsAlliesMiddle EastNotableAl QaedaMenaceIranianDronesHegemonyCoupsArabianEmbassyYemenPeninsulas Author:Charles Krauthammer
“The 2014 election has given the GOP the rare opportunity to retroactively redeem its brand. The conventional perception, incessantly repeated by Democrats and the media, is that Washington dysfunction is the work of the Party of No. Expose the real agent of do-nothing. Show that, when Harry Reid can no longer consign House-passed legislation to oblivion, Congress can actually work.” RealShowsOpportunityHouseGivenPartyMediaPerceptionElectionDemocratCongressAgentsBrandsConventionalLegislationOblivionNotableDysfunctionIncessantlyGopRare Opportunities Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Pass legislation. When Obama signs, you've shown seriousness and the ability to govern. When he vetoes, you've clarified the differences between party philosophies and prepared the ground for 2016.” PhilosophyDifferencesAbilityPartyPreparedLegislationSeriousnessNotableVeto Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Tuesday's victory was big. But it did nothing more than level the playing field and give you a shot. Take it.” GivingBigsLevelsFieldsVictoryShotsNotableTuesdayPlaying Fields Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Obama has committed the U.S. to war on the Islamic State. To then allow within a month an allied enclave to be overrun - and perhaps annihilated - would be a major blow.” WarStatesWould BeMonthsMajorsBlowCommittedIslamicNotableIslamic State Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Guerrilla war is a test of wills. Obama's actual objectives - rollback in Iraq, containment in Syria - are not unreasonable. But they require commitment and determination. In other words, will. You can't just make one speech declaring war, then disappear and go fundraising.” WarSpeechCommitmentDeterminationTestsIraqDisappearObjectivesSyriaNotableUnreasonableDeclaringFundraisingGuerrillasContainmentDeclaring War Author:Charles Krauthammer
“The indecisiveness and ambivalence so devastatingly described by both of Obama's previous secretaries of defense, Leon Panetta and Bob Gates, are already beginning to characterize the Syria campaign.” DefenseCampaignsGatesBobSecretarySyriaNotableAmbivalenceLeonIndecisiveness Author:Charles Krauthammer
“The Iraquis can see it. The Kurds can feel it. The jihadists are counting on it.” FeelsCountingNotableKurds Author:Charles Krauthammer
“The Democratic line is that the Republican House does nothing but block and oppose. In fact, it has passed hundreds of bills only to have them die upon reaching the desk of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He has rendered the Senate inert by simply ensuring that any bill that might present a politically difficult vote for his Democratic colleagues never even comes to the floor.” DoeFactsMightDiesHouseDifficultLinesLeaderRepublicanVoteBillsMajorityDemocraticBlockReachingSenateDesksColleaguesNotableMajority Leader Author:Charles Krauthammer
“Winning control of the Senate would allow Republicans to pass a whole range of measures now being held up by Reid, often at the behest of the White House. Make it a major reform agenda. The centerpiece might be tax reform, both corporate and individual. It is needed, popular and doable. Then go for the low-hanging fruit enjoying wide bipartisan support, such as the Keystone XL pipeline and natural gas exports, most especially to Eastern Europe. One could then add border security, energy deregulation and health-care reform that repeals the more onerous Obamacare mandates.” WholeMightCareHouseWinningIndividualEnergyEnjoyNaturalWhiteSupportSecurityNeededRepublicanTaxesMajorsLowsEuropeAddFruitWideReformHealth CareCorporateRangeBordersGasAgendasWhite HouseSenateEasternNotableObamacareMandatesBipartisanPipelineEastern EuropeNatural GasKeystonesHealth Care ReformDeregulationTax ReformBorder SecurityCenterpieces Author:Charles Krauthammer
“If the president signs any of it, good. If he vetoes, it will be clarifying. Who then will be the party of no? The vetoed legislation would become the framework for a 2016 GOP platform. Let the debate begin.” IfsPresidentPartyDebatePlatformsLegislationFrameworkNotableGopVetoClarifying Author:Charles Krauthammer
