huntley
Steve Huntley biography
Steve Huntley is a commentary columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a member of its editorial board.
He served as editor of the editorial page …
Read More-
Half measures will fail in Syria
We’re about to see whether Washington can micromanage a civil war. The general idea from President Barack Obama is that U.S.-supplied arms — machineguns and maybe anti-tank weapons, but not anti-aircraft rockets or logistical support through a no-fly zone — can be funneled to “moderate” …Read More
-
Too many eyes on too many secrets
One thing we’ve learned from the controversy over the national security surveillance leaks is that 4.9 million people have access — meaning they know or could know — to information classified as “confidential and secret.” For the really secret stuff, it’s 1.4 million people, a …Read More
-
Americans’ trust in Obama fading with each scandal
National defense is a pre-eminent priority of government. So is preserving our civil liberties. The uproar over disclosures about the massive surveillance of telephone records by the National Security Agency demonstrates, in general, the precarious balancing act necessary to mesh the two priorities, and, in …Read More
Search recent columns
More Columns
Supreme Court makes right call on DNA samples, observing limits
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing police to take DNA samples without a warrant should make all of us feel a little uncomfortable. The court’s reasoning was in some points tendentious if not disingenuous; it expands intrusive police powers, and, critics argue, it sets the …
Don’t let Obama define ‘journalist’
The conventional wisdom is that, of the scandals swirling around the Obama administration, the one that worries the public the least is the spying on journalists. This reading holds that the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservatives resonates with more Americans because the tax man …
Kerry working for Mideast peace
Only a few months in his new job, Secretary of State John Kerry has visited Israel more times than his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, did in four years. Kerry, who was in the Holy Land for the fourth time last week, is determined to try to …
Nothing wrong with our democracy
Memorial Day is the national day of remembrance for the men and women of the armed forces who died protecting our way of life. The American success story they defended with the ultimate sacrifice is rooted in our governing principles articulated in the Constitution. But …
Scandals reveal dangers of big government
Whatever else comes out of the controversies engulfing Washington, one thing is clear: They confirm conservative warnings that big government naturally grows ever more meddlesome and threatening in the lives of its citizens. Whatever turns out to be the original impulse in the Internal Revenue …
White House mired in scandals
It would be interesting to know what’s running through Susan Rice’s mind these days. It’s clear now that the U.N. ambassador was sent out with Benghazi talking points that had been massaged by the Obama administration in a way that misled the public about what …
Dig deeper on IRS, Benghazi scandals
Only five months into his second term, President Barack Obama finds himself plagued by a pair of blots on his administration worthy of the description scandal — increasing evidence of a deliberate attempt to mislead the American public about the Benghazi terrorist attack and the …
Gun deaths are down as debate rages
Amid the gun control debate following the Newtown killings, average Americans could be forgiven for thinking — as polling shows most do — that gun violence is higher than 20 years ago. The truth is exactly the opposite — both the number and rate of …
U.S. citizenship is not a human right
As the Senate begins the arduous task of fashioning an immigration reform bill this week, success depends not only on overcoming skepticism, mostly from Republicans, about the bill, but also allaying suspicions about the Obama administration’s commitment to enforcing whatever Congress passes. Attorney General Eric …
Obama’s Syria stumbles
It’s hard not to sympathize with President Barack Obama’s reluctance to dive into Syria. It’s a messy civil war with no seemingly good outcome for America. But Obama risks damaging his credibility and that of the United States in a dangerous world at a dangerous …
Fears of Islamophobia are overblown
As sure as night follows day, every Islamist terror attack is followed by warnings for Americans to be on guard against “Islamophobia.” On cue, two weeks after the Boston Marathon terrorism, Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday declared that “I also want to make clear …
Government bumbling should anger voters
Hyper-partisan battles and gridlock in Washington have sent government poll numbers plummeting. But in truth the stalemate in the capital only mirrors the polarization of the voters; the system is working as it is supposed to, reflecting the views and divisions of the public. More …
Islamic radicalism can’t be denied
In the understandably intense focus on the Boston Marathon terrorism, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it was the second terrorist attack on America in little more than a half a year. The other one was Benghazi last Sept. 11 when a U.S. …
This may go down as the ‘Age of Terror’
In trying to understand the human journey, historians discern “ages” of mankind. In his nearly a dozen “The Story of Civilization” books, Will Durant wrote of “The Age of Faith” and “The Age of Reason Begins.” Page Smith started his series of books on U.S. …
Obama’s foreign policy stumbles
Spring may be the season of hope, but President Barack Obama faces a winter of discontent in foreign policy as he suffers setbacks from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula. Neither diplomacy nor the flexing of military muscle have produced desired results and have …
Obama is wise to go slowly in Syria
Pressure has been growing for President Barack Obama to intervene with military strikes to aid the rebels in Syria. But the president prudently has avoided a high-risk stake in that civil war out of a reasonable fear he would be throwing gasoline on the wildfire …
Weird: North Korea takes aim at Texas
Last year I fled south to Austin, Texas, to escape Chicago’s miserable winters. Little did I know that my move would place me in the crosshairs of possible nuclear annihilation. Or not. Maybe all I’ve done is replace Chicago’s bone-numbing wind chill with the mind-numbing …
