Australian American Leadership Dialogue — Melbourne

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I’m into the second day of an extraordinary set of meetings, the 15th annual Australian American Leadership Dialogue, staged in Melbourne, Australia. They are extraordinary because of the seriousness and general candor of discussions ranging from climate change policy challenges to the mess in Iraq to brewing issues in Asia and with China.

NOAA Planning Arctic Mapping Expedition

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Hm. NOAA is undertaking a mission to map out areas to claim in the American extended continental shelf. Of course, unless the U.S. ratifies the Law of the Sea convention, the mission’s findings are absolutely worthless.

Update from Steve — Strategic Planning is Going Well

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Steve just called in from Spectacle Lake via satellite phone to make sure readers have not abandoned TWN in his absence. He’s happy to report no run-ins with any bears thus far but is prepared to fend them off with his self-taught Davy Crockett maneuvers. Apparently the wilderness air does wonders for strategic planning.

Gaffney Plus Washington Times Equals Hilarity

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I’m honestly not sure which is more hysterical: Frank Gaffney’s most recent Washington Times column, which argues that the Russians laid claim to the North Pole in a cunning gambit to corner the U.S.

Beyond Arms Sales: Whither the US-Saudi Relationship?

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The firestorm of controversy that ignited this week over the arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other gulf states opens up an important debate that needs to be thoroughly explored, yet the thrust of the discussion–typified by Bret Stephens fulminating this morning against supposed Saudi malevolent intentions in his column “A Kernel of Evil“–has largely…