Is America doomed to go of the way of all empires before it? The waning British empire of the 20th century conducted a series of unsuccessful experiments in the Middle East, before America filled in for her in the latter half of the century. None of these have proven successful on a macro level. Leon Hadar makes a critical analysis of the interventionist foreign policies executed in the Middle East, from the collapse of the Ottoman empire to the modern day as discussed in the The Balfour Declaration: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Jonathan Schneer.

News that Putin will return to the Russian presidency is being met with not-so-interesting reports on the situation. But Daniel Larison says political musical chairs will not improve the dynamics of the U.S.-Russian relationship very much — only an understanding of Russian interests will do so.

Is it illegal to post publicly available information on an internet blog? Well, it seems as though that is indeed the case in a brave new America. Peter Van Buren details an account in which he was investigated by the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for linking to a publicly available Wikileaks document, shortly after releasing We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People. Coincidence? He says not.

Rod Dreher says the time of Old Europe and state sovereignty may soon be coming to a close. Will the entirety of the eurozone cede its autonomy to Brussels?