It's hard not to sympathize with the more than 100 senior U.S. foreign service officers and dozens of promising young diplomats who have left the State Department in the year since President Donald Trump took office. The latest to head for the exits is 35-year State Department veteran Tom Shannon, the most senior foreign service officer to continue serving under the Trump administration. While Shannon cited personal rather than political reasons for his impending departure, he made his real rationale clear, “I want to go out living by my oath, which is respect for the Constitution, respecting our political institutions,…

The Korean War ended in a stalemate at the 38th parallel, which to this day divides North and South Korea. The final armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. There still is no final peace settlement of the conflict. Technically, the two sides are still at war, separated by a Demilitarise Zone (DMZ) with nukes now pointing at each other, guaranteeing nuclear annihilation if war breaks out again. And given Donald Trump’s threats of unleashing “fire and fury” on the DPRK, the possibility is horrifyingly real. The cessation of military operations also marked the beginning of a new war: the…

[Editor's note: The following text is taken from an interview with Minister Farrakhan bythe  late John F. Kennedy Jr. for his publication, George magazine.   The interviewoccured on July 31, 1996 at the home of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Chicago.] ON POLITICS MINISTER FARRAKHAN (MLF): Mr. Kennedy, first let me just say that there is no question that would be considered inappropriate. As one who was alive during the time of your father’s work and one who watched him and studied him as best I could, I am very pleased to be interviewed by you and pleased to know that…

A lawyer for President Donald Trump’s transition team is accusing special counsel Robert Mueller of unlawfully obtaining tens of thousands of private emails during its investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election. Kory Langhofer, an Arizona-based attorney representing Trump for America, spelled out the complaint in a seven-page letter sent Saturday to the main House and Senate oversight committees where he raises potential violations of attorney-client privilege and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure. Mueller’s office got the records earlier this summer from the General Services Administration, the government agency charged with holding all transition materials,…

The Syrian civil war has entered a new phase. President Bashar al-Assad’s government has consolidated its grip on the western half of the country, and in the east, U.S.-backed forces are advancing on the remnants of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS). So far, these two campaigns have remained largely separate. But that is changing: Assad, with Iranian and Russian help, is starting to project more power into eastern Syria. As ISIS’ remaining territory shrinks, Syrian and U.S.-backed forces are converging on the same cities. Before long, Washington will have to decide whether, when, and how to withdraw.  The United States has…