The Lichfield Group

This article appeared in the November 26, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

The Bush administration trumpets a delusional exit strategy for Iraq: namely, an orderly departure of troops after entrenching a democratic and unified Iraq capable of suppressing a raging terrorist insurgency. That utopian aim would keep United States troops in Iraq with mounting casualties for the ages. The least bad earthbound departure plan for the post-Saddam quagmire would partition Iraq between Kurds, Sunnis, and Shiites. Partition would still make the Iraqi war a modest success, whereas President Bush’s “stay the course” mantra promises a flaming disaster.

This article appeared in the November 22, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R. S.C.) deserves a salute.

On November 10, 2005, he engineered an amendment to a pending bill that generally ends the absurdity of alien enemy combatants detained at Guantanamo Bay (GTMO) suing United States officials whom they hope to kill in federal courts. Under existing habeas corpus statutes as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court in Rasul v. Bush (2004), approximately 300 GTMO detainees have sued alleging various transgressions of constitutional rights, including a demand for dictionaries, high-speed internet access, and more Mercury footed mail delivery.

This article appeared in the November 15, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy keenly relishes acting as an ethical or moral beacon. He boasts that the High Court’s policy encyclicals endow the Justices with greater power than elected lawmakers, with the possible exception of foreign affairs. Justice Kennedy’s playing Platonic Guardian under the umbrella of the Constitution might be redeemed if he were blessed with uncommon wisdom and dazzling insights. But his observations about the human condition are a best jejune and at worst sophomoric. In sum, Justice Kennedy illustrates why President George W. Bush should stick to Supreme Court nominees in the mold of Bork, Scalia, and Thomas.

This article appeared in the November 8, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

Judge Samuel A. Alito’s confirmation as an Associate Justice to replace Sandra Day O’Connor would mark a genuine turning point in the decisions of the United States Supreme Court. With Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, Judge Alito would make the fourth of a band of philosophical brothers schooled to interpreting the Constitution and statutes in accord with their original meaning as the Founding Fathers intended. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and companion architects of the Constitution described the judiciary as the least dangerous branch, in part because the Supreme Court’s power to interpret was intended to be circumscribed by the text and manifest purposes.

This article appeared in the November 1, 2005 issue of the Washington Times.

Scooter Libby’s five-count indictment for lying about his knowledge of Valerie Plame emerged from a signature “we against them” attitude of the Bush administration: you are either an obsequious friend or an enemy to be destroyed. Life sports no shades of gray, no matters of degree. Success is measured by the number of opponents lacerated, not by the statesmanship accomplished.