James Jay Carafano
A 25-year Army veteran, James Jay Carafano is vice president of Defense and Foreign Policy Studies for The Heritage Foundation, (Heritage.org), a conservative think-tank on Capitol Hill. Readers may write him at Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002.
Most Recent Articles by James Jay Carafano:
ISIS in America? Never say never — say less likely
April 22, 2019
Americans should never get complacent about the terrorist threat. But as long as we keep heavy pressure on the transnational groups, we can sleep better than most.
America needs a bigger NATO to stymie Russia’s ambitions
April 5, 2019
Putin wants NATO to stop expanding. It crimps his style
America’s nuclear force must match Russia’s and then some
January 17, 2019
Like it or not, we live in an age of nuclear proliferation. "Peace through strength" remains the best path forward, and strength requires both a deterrent nuclear force and effective missile defenses
U.S. base in Poland flashes continual hands-off signal to Putin!
December 20, 2018
Fort Trump would be a costly speed bump to Russian aggression
America’s competitors can count. They see that our armed forces are too small and ill-prepared to take on two regional powers simultaneously
Proposed Space Force best way to prevent future Star Wars
August 17, 2018
What we will see is America leading the way to ensure that the freedom of the commons extends from the seas to space itself
Iran will have to cut a better deal or risk becoming another North Korea. And as we recently learned, even North Korea doesn’t want to be North Korea
Israel has an obvious right to prevent its obliteration
April 6, 2018
Preemptive Strike On Iran
A modernized military is needed to handle global threats
January 14, 2018
Failing to replace aging warships, planes and tanks would severely jeopardize both American prosperity and global peace
Navy must repair and expand its fleet to meet mounting global challenges
September 1, 2017
“Hollowing out” of the American military
It does little good to accomplish our aims on the Syrian front if we can’t leverage them to achieve our greater goals of returning a greater measure of peace stability to the region by containing Iran and helping crush Islamist extremism
Critical regions are Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and the main forces threatening destabilization are Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and the transnational Islamist threat spearheaded by al Qaeda and ISIS
To keep the global peace, U.S. must remain top dog
November 14, 2016
Peace through strength is an apt mantra, especially in these increasingly troubled times.
Trump’s push for a NATO buildup is nothing new; but it is wise
August 20, 2016
NATO needs to get better. And America needs a better NATO
Tougher sanctions are not enough. We know this because we’ve tried it — while Ms. Clinton was Secretary of State. It failed spectacularly.
Mr. Obama has traveled widely, yet accomplished little. It takes more than a massive carbon footprint to make friends, influence people and advance American interests overseas
Ignoring religious genocide is an Obama atrocity
March 28, 2016
You can’t stand on high ground when you’re swimming with the bottom-feeders
Obama’s last chance: put boots on the ground and snuff ISIS
November 19, 2015
Delay of meaningful ground action risks allowing the twin dangers of ISIS to spread even farther
Moscow is happy to help Tehran prop up Assad, thereby building a buffer against ISIS. But there is zero evidence of Russian interest in helping us.
By empowering Iran, the deal is all but guaranteed to spark a conventional arms race—and quite possible a nuclear one—in what is already the most unstable and dangerous region in the world.
Washington doesn’t need more war-mongering. But it does need a responsibly sized and capable military—one that realistically matches the needs of a global power with global interests
From the very start, all the president has done is put Israel, the U.S., and our friends and allies in the region at risk.
Obama’s “Leading from Behind” has U.S in full retreat
January 29, 2015
it is not fair to label Mr. Obama’s approach as “leading from behind.” He often takes the initiative to address foreign policy problems. It’s just that what he is doing is not working.
Big losers are Cubans yearning to breathe free; U.S. credibility
December 24, 2014
When Obama embraces the Cuban regime with a sham freedom agenda, he turns American exceptionalism into American hypocrisy. Freedom-loving Cubans deserve far better than that.
Optimism fades as Obama’s Middle East policies implode
June 26, 2014
Military, political strategies that comprise Obama Doctrine have created space, opportunity for others to exploit the instability in Iraq, Afghanistan
Though many Vietnam War protestors, including now Secretary of State John Kerry, trumpet America's withdrawal as a triumph, there is no reason to be proud of how we left
Obama’s foolish negotiations with Iran could unleash the dogs of war
October 17, 2013
No matter what Iran’s leaders might say for public consumption, they will never agree to anything that would keep them from getting the bomb.
Hillary’s bungling of Benghazi will come back to haunt her in 2016
January 31, 2013
A catastrophic failure of judgment
Rather than pick a date, the U.S. would do better to ensure that its interests are protected before it walks away
This Administration wasted most its first three years trying to “engage” this rogue regime