I've never worked in the White House, but I've spent time with people who have. Some were devoted – almost religiously – to the man in the Oval Office. Others were bent on using the president to advance their own power, careers, or agendas.

When Gen. H.R. McMaster was appointed Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, he believed that the proper role of what's commonly called the national security advisor (NSA) is to provide the president with "comprehensive analysis, sound assumptions, clear objectives, and realistic concepts for integrating all elements of national power and the efforts of likeminded partners."

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For weeks, Israelis have been "bracing" themselves – as headline writers like to put it – for a new wave of attacks from Iran's rulers. Following the July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a well-guarded government guesthouse in Tehran, the theocrats had threatened "severe" revenge.

As I write this, that dog hasn't barked – or, more precisely, hasn't bitten. Why not? We can only speculate. And I intend to.

First, let me remind you that Mr. Haniyeh's demise did not happen in a vacuum (to coin a phrase).

It was one untimely death among thousands resulting from a war his terrorist organization initiated with its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and its barbarous pogrom.

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When World War II ended – not in a "ceasefire" or a "responsible exit strategy" or a "peace deal" but with the unconditional surrender of America's enemies – the United States determined to create a new world order.

That required the transformation of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan into free and friendly nation-states.

And that, in turn, required leaving American troops on their soil. They are still there. Given the aggressiveness of post-Soviet Russia and Communist China, their continuing presence is as essential as ever.

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"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting," declared Sun Tzu, the legendary Chinese military strategist. Xi Jinping, the most powerful Chinese Communist leader since Mao Zedong, is surely familiar with this sage advice. Yet he decided not to take it.

Recall that in 1997 the British lowered the Union Jack over Hong Kong, their colony since 1842. In exchange, Beijing committed to the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" – the maintenance of Hong Kong as a free and open society for 50 years.

Had Mr. Xi kept that promise, he could now say to the Taiwanese people: "You, too, can have such a deal. Become a province of the People's Republic of China. There's no reason for bloodshed."

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To no one's surprise, Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen and accredited foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Russia, was sentenced last Friday to 16 years in a high-security penal colony on charges of espionage.

Mr. Gershkovich, 32, was "wrongfully convicted in a hurried, secret trial that the U.S. government has condemned as a sham," the Journal reported.

Since his arrest in March of last year, Russian authorities have produced not a shred of evidence against him.

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