Where were you when the towers fell? In just a few months’ time, such questions will burn up the internet and social media as America once again marks the tragedy that is 9/11-fifteen years ago this year. I certainly know where I was-sitting at a local breakfast hub back in my hometown of Cranston, Rhode Island, with my soon to be wife-preparing to devour the loveliest stack of pancakes, when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Instantly, everyone’s eyes were locked onto the TV screen. I thought at first it was an advertisement for the latest big-budget action flick. I thought to myself, “That is one heck of a plot-I need to see that.” Minutes later, too my absolute horror, I
The Obama administration is moving toward what could be a dangerous showdown with China over the South China Sea. The confrontation has been building for the past three years, as China has constructed artificial islands off its southern coast and installed missiles and radar in disputed waters, despite U.S. warnings. It could come to a head this spring, when an arbitration panel in The Hague is expected to rule that China is making “excessive” claims about its maritime sovereignty. What makes this dispute so explosive is that it pits an American president who needs to affirm his credibility as a strong leader against a risk-taking Chinese president who has shown disregard for U.S. military power
