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She was one of the Iraq Wars loudest pundit proponents during the Bush administration. But a decade later, those pro-war cheers have turned to protest chants against any escalation in the Middle East.

Anyone old enough to remember the height of the Iraq-War carnage of the early Bush years can recall images and audio of Ann Coultera right-wing columnist and longtime cable-news fixtureappointing herself one of the countrys loudest, most flamboyant war defenders and cheerleaders in national media. Coulters 2003 bestselling book was, after all, titled, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism, and in November 2005 bashed the Democrats as gutless traitors.

But just two short administrations later, Coulters Iraq-occupation fandom has melted into an America First aversion to further military meddling in the Middle East. Its a tone and posturing that would make her onetime neoconservative allies and fanboys wince and side-eye.

But only until fairly recently, she had yet to alter her tune on the war in Iraq.

I think Iraq was a crucial part of the war on terrorismif you had to choose between Iraq and Afghanistan, Id take Iraq over Afghanistan, Coulter said on a Fox Business panel, debating anti-war libertarians, in late 2011. PATRIOT Act, fantastic, Gitmo, fantastic, waterboarding, not bad, though [even harsher] torture wouldve been better.

Coulter went on to tell a bewildered John Stossel and Matt Welch that [Iraq] is a fantastic country for regime change, that torture works beautifully, and that position regarding potential blowback or unintended negative consequences to the war were merely a crazy ACLU argument.

Read a syndicated Coulter column from President George W. Bushs first term, you will more than likely find her chiding treasonous Democratic politicians and liberals for being soft on terror and dictatorshipDemocrats werent interested in liberating Afghanistan and Iraq from woman-hating Islamicist fanatics, she wrote, bashing John Kerry and boosting Bush, in July 2004 at the tail end of the Democratic National Convention.

As the war raged on into the closing years of the Bush presidency, Coulter was still calling for more bombing, bigger war, and much less regard for civilian life. Maybe we could fight the [Iraq] war a little harder, she said on MSNBC in June 2007. [We should be] a little less worried about civilian casualtiesId rather have their civilians die than our civilians die.

You stop [fanatics] by bombing their society, Coulter emphasizedindiscriminately, even.

Flash-forward a little over a decade later, and she couldnt be less enthused about overseas bombing. Coulter was one of the earliest and most vociferous supporters of Trumps insurgent presidential campaign, campaigning for him and regularly trying to drum up support for him, even in Hollywood. She sharply broke with the president specifically on his decision to launch 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian-military airfield earlier this month.

Glad hes not sending troops! [Trump] should fire Nikki Haley and Gen. McMaster, Coulter told The Daily Beast in an email exchange on Tuesday. Constant war was not the platform he ran on. To the contrary, he promised no more disastrous and expensive Middle East wars. Having those two loons ranting and raving about Assad and Putin would be like hiring Luis Gutirrez to run his immigration office.

Asked about her past, big-league support for what she might now call constant war or disastrous and expensive incursions, and if she regrets past support for these wars, she hedged a bit and pointed to her track record of opposing other military interventions.

I am well on the record as opposing most recent wars, Coulter wrote back. I was against Bush 1s Gulf War (in law school so no one knew, other than my friends), against Clinton meddling in the Balkans, against Obamas intervention in Libya and Egypt, FOR Afghanistan, but against [Obama] escalating in Afghanistan (what the fuck is the point of that?). So it was only the Iraq War I staunchly supported and my only regret about that was that this country then elected Barack Obama, who gave our victory away.

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President Obama, while dropping support for Egypts former dictator Hosni Mubarak during the 2011 uprising, did not intervene militarily in Egypt.

These positions are all overI dont have time to look them up for you, Coulter said, before pointing to past columns and speeches. Im all over in 2002-2003 supporting the Iraq War, but NOT because of WMDsthat was just to taunt The New York Times.

The Daily Beast asked Ann if this all means she now agrees that the war in Iraqwhich not too long ago she was still touting as a crucial part of the war on terrorismshould never have been waged in the first place.

YES! But not for the reason liberals say, she emailed.

Its true that no one should mistake Coulters selective anti-intervention positions or motivations as a defection to the anti-war leftism that she has spent years railing against as a fifth column in American society. On Tuesday, for instance, Coulter (who has been very active on social media this month opposing Trumps anti-Assad missile strikes) retweeted a tweet from VDare asking Evan McMullin: why are you so eager to send Americans to fight in Syria?

VDare is a white-nationalist, anti-immigration websitenot exactly the stuff of lefty anti-war dreams.

Still, some of Coulters recent pieces can soundif you isolated certain sentenceslike the musings of an activist college kid who just picked up her first copy of Howard Zinn.

War is like crack for presidents, she wrote in her column, published at Breitbart and The Daily Caller, last week. It confers instant gravitas, catapulting them to respectability, bypassing all station stops. They get to make macho pronouncements on a topic where every utterance is seen as august Trumps Syrian misadventure is immoral, violates every promise he ran on, and could sink his presidency.

Our enemiesboth foreign and domesticwould be delighted to see our broken country further weaken itself with pointless wars, she continued, referring to at least one of the pointless wars to which she once devoted her praise and efforts. Was America strengthened by the Iraq War? The apparently never-ending Afghanistan War? Vietnam? This is how great powers die, which is exactly what the left wants.

Coulter isnt done making the media rounds just yet, with regards to railing against more war in Syria. On Tuesday morning, Fox News host Sean Hannity emailed The Daily Beast that I have her on [my radio show] tomorrow about this topic if you want to tune in.

For Coulter, itll just be another day fighting the good fight against those she dubs the generals straight out of Dr. Strangelove trying to manipulate Donald Trump into starting World War III and toppling brutal dictators.

Someone get Ann Coulter 2004 on the line.

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Ann Coulter Said Anti-War Dems Were Traitors. Now She Says War Is Like Crack for Trump - Daily Beast

Modesto Bee

Four GOP leaders will skip Ann Coulter's visit next week to Modesto Modesto Bee Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter has the right to speak her mind, four Republican leaders said at Monday night's town hall meeting in Turlock. And they all plan to be elsewhere when she visits the area April 28. The Coulter question came up during ...

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Four GOP leaders will skip Ann Coulter's visit next week to Modesto - Modesto Bee

Fresno Bee

Fresno mayor, Billy Graham's son, Ann Coulter, others react on Twitter to killing spree Fresno Bee On social media, reaction to Tuesday's fatal shooting of three men in Fresno was swift and emotional. People reached out to the community, the victims' families, and to law enforcement. Many questioned by motives of suspected gunman Kori Ali Muhammad, ... and more »

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Fresno mayor, Billy Graham's son, Ann Coulter, others react on Twitter to killing spree - Fresno Bee

The grassroots group Pulse of Europe aims to show politicians and right-wing Europeans that the silent majority favors the E.U.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREAS ARNOLD / PICTURE-ALLIANCE / DPA / AP

On the Sunday before Easter, the sun was shining on Berlins charming Gendarmenmarkt. At 1:30 P.M., the first blue-and-yellow flagssymbols of the European Unionappeared on the square, held aloft or worn like capes. The P.A. system was up and running. A pop-y German New Wave classic came on: Visit Europe, while its still standing. From the broad, shady steps of the concert house, Alexander Knigges aviator sunglasses reflected the light. This songs about nuclear war, he said. But, actually, it fits todays situation pretty well.

Knigge is a German real-estate lawyer and one of the organizers of the Berlin chapter of Pulse of Europe, a grassroots movement dreamed up by a Frankfurt-based lawyer in response to the feelings of intense dismay brought on by watching Donald Trumps victory on television. Pulse of Europe events feature an hour-long program that includes live music and an open mike, and have been taking place on city squares across Europe almost every Sunday afternoon since the beginning of the year. Their mission is simple: to show support for the European Union.

Today, the theme was Francea country where four of the five major Presidential candidates in the upcoming elections have taken Euroskeptic positions. Knigge, who had never been involved in a protest movement before getting involved with Pulse of Europe, fielded organizational questions from other volunteers and reflected on his reasons for helping out. Its a matter of freedom, and peace, he said, as the playlist bounced to Frankreich, Frankreich, another eighties hit, in which the singer wakes up to a shock: overnight, he has lost his baguette, his cigarette, Jeanette and Claudette. If France decides to leave the E.U., the E.U. is gone, said Knigge. My grandparents fought in World War II, and we all know that the European Union is the best guarantee against war. I dont really trust GermanyIm happy its completely bound up in a bigger union.

Knigge paused, to smile at the lyrics (Oo-la-la!). Also, I really like living in Europe. Im forty-fiveIm not going to move to Spain. But I like the idea that I could. Knigge is not alone. The Pulse of Europe gatherings started with four hundred people on Goetheplatz, in Frankfurt, one gloomy mid-January afternoon. Since then, they seem to have struck a nerve: the weekend before the Gendarmenmarkt rally, some forty-five thousand people attended events in ninety-two cities spread across twelve countries, according to the organizers. Politicians are taking note: Last week, in one of his first speeches, Germanys recently elected President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, explicitly praised the organization for countering what many say is the E.U.s overwhelmingly negative public image. These young people, they are tired of people only talking badly about Europe, he said. (National politicians tend to make the E.U. a scapegoat for things that go wrong in their countries, while taking credit themselves for things that go right.) For many of our children and grandchildren, Europe is already a homeland, Steinmeier added.

Tanja Brzel, a professor of political science at the Freie Universitt Berlin, said that Pulse of Europe was filling a need. Pulse of Europe reminds us that Europe is more than just a bunch of men in gray suits, meeting to discuss problems, she said. Its such a powerful image of ordinary citizens mobilizing. Calling the group an emerging social movement, she added that, while Europes right wing has been able to mobilize twenty per cent of the population, Pulse of Europe signals to politicians and right-wingers that the silent majority is pro-Europe. Brzel disagrees with critics who say that Pulse of Europes lack of a specific political agenda limits its effectiveness. They lay out clearly what they support: Democracy, rule of law, human rights. This is not self-evidentlook at Hungary and Poland. These values are no longer to be taken for granted.

I think that is enough, she said. To initiate momentum. Then its up to the politicians to make specific reforms.

Polls show that the majority of European citizens do, in fact, support the E.U. But, after the Brexit referendum, Daniel Roeder, the founder of Pulse of Europe, grew concerned that headline-grabbing populists could win more Brexit-type victories. Then came the U.S. election. The day after Trump was elected, my wife and I were sitting in the living room watching TV in disbelief, Roeder said. We thought, Lets do something. There must be other people who are feeling like us, sitting here in complete shock. Maybe they will join us. The next morning, the couple began e-mailing friends and colleagues. They designed a Web site and drafted a nonpartisan, pro-European Union mission statement. Let us become louder and more visible! it reads. Basically, we wanted to create a pro-European critical mass, Roeder said.

So far, most Pulse of Europe demonstrations are located in Germany, though gatherings have taken place in towns from Montpellier to Stockholm, and organizers say queries have come in from Warsaw and Budapest. Europe is our everyday life, said Aurlien Condomines, a Paris-based lawyer who runs the French chapter of Pulse of Europe. I was in London after the Brexit vote. I went to professional lunches, and people were crying. They said, My God, what have we done? Could we have prevented this? Its part of your identity. Your self is torn apart when someone comes and says, Youre not a European anymore. Its crazy.

Things like markets and marriages bind European countries more closely than many people realize, Condomines added. So far, Euroskeptics have made the most noise. But that could change: Recently, thousands of people at a Munich Pulse of Europe gathering shouted a greeting to Bordeaux. Libert, egalit, fraternit, with German accents, Condomines said. It was really funny. Still, Martin Fischer, a German attorney who lives with his family in Amsterdam, told me that cultural differences cannot be ignored. I see one of my obligations in my life, growing up in Germany and dealing with the Holocaust, being to speak up as soon as I see signs of nationalism, Fischer said. However, he was frustrated when Dutch friends said that they would attend the Pulse of Europe events he was organizing in Amsterdam but did not. Finally, my Dutch friends said, We dont show our political opinions in public.

By the time the clock struck two on Gendarmenmarkt, several thousand people had arrived. Toni and Marie, rosy-cheeked ten-year-old twins, said they feared one thing if the E.U. failed: War. The eighty-three-year-old pastor Klaus-Heinrich Kamstein agreed. Its crucial, in my opinion, to speak loudly in favor of Europe now, he said. Weve already seen the results of hundreds of years of governance focused on nation-states. Among them are World War I and World War II. An advertising filmmaker in dark glasses and a pink fuzzy sweater worried that, with the Brexit, working across borders would be more difficult; a twenty-four-year-old political-science student said that she directly benefitted from the E.U.s open internal borders, as, to attend a Dutch university, she crossed the border every day. Juliane Latzke, a thirty-four-year-old mother of two, said that she was there for her small children: I was born in the G.D.R., and I know what it means not to be free.

Despite these fears, the atmosphere was celebratory. Were not protesting against something but for something, said Knigge. Its fun. As usual, the hourwhich included a minute of silence for the recent terror attacks in St. Petersburg and Stockholmwound down with the Italo-pop ballad Insieme (Together). As the 1990 Eurovision winner Toto Cutugno crooned, Unite, unite Europe, everyone on the square joined hands.I think the important thing is to bring emotion to the European project, said Julia Hahn, another organizer of the Berlin gathering. Thats something the European Union has missed out on. One weekend, we asked, Who has fallen in love in another country? You should have seen how many people raised their hands.

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Unite, Unite Europe! A Protest in Favor of the European Union - The New Yorker

BEIJING Top diplomats from China and the European Union pledged closer cooperation Wednesday, highlighting their common interests in peace and security and pushing a message of free trade and open engagement in contrast to fears that the U.S. is turning inward under President Donald Trump.

The statements came as China and the EU held their first high-level talks since Trump took office in January. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini co-chaired the Seventh EU-China Strategic Dialogue with State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Chinas highest-ranking diplomat.

At present, the international situation is complex with many new developments, challenges and problems, Yang told Mogherini at the outset.

Against this backdrop, for China and the EU to deepen cooperation and coordinate positions not only concerns the common interests of the two sides, but also is of great significance for the development of international political and economic relations, he added.

Mogherini said China and the EU had a big responsibility during times of uncertainty.

We are looking forward to intensifying our cooperation on a positive agenda, what the EU and China can do together for the benefit not only of our citizens, but also of the world, Mogherini said.

The two sides discussed rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea moves to accelerate its nuclear weapons development, and the war in Syria. Mogherini told reporters afterward that ending the war in Syria is a priority, and she and Yang discussed at length how to actively support the U.N.-led process while working to improve the humanitarian access into the country.

The one-day talks come ahead of an EU-China summit scheduled for Brussels in June.

On Tuesday, Mogherini met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who said that the international community was looking at how China and the EU would work together to tackle challenges including the world economic recovery, global conflicts and terrorism, and Britains pending withdrawal from the EU.

Li said he was optimistic about the outcome of the talks based on a stable China-EU relationship, with the consistency of our two sides toward multilateralism and free trade, and with our joint commitment to improving the international governance structure.

Unlike Trump, who was elected promising to tear up trade deals, impose new tariffs and bring jobs back to America, Chinese President Xi Jinping has cast his country as a champion of free trade and stability, and spoken out against protectionism.

Mogherini said that such speeches by Xi have raised high expectations that China and the European Union can work together on multilateralism, on rules-based global order and trade.

Not only our people, but probably the multilateral system, need Europe and China to work together on some of the major global issues we are facing, from climate change to migration or counterterrorism, and also the many crises we have around us such as the tensions on the Korean Peninsula, Mogherini told Li at the start of their meeting.

Beijing and Brussels have disagreements on trade, however, including complaints by European and other foreign companies that they are blocked from acquiring Chinese assets while Chinas companies are buying major global brands.

They also say they are barred from or sharply restricted in telecoms, information technology, finance and other promising industries in violation of Beijings free-trading pledges.

Beijing, meanwhile, wants the EU to grant it market economy status, which would make it harder for the EU to impose punitive tariffs on Chinese imports that it deems to be unfairly cheap.

Other points of dispute include Chinas increasingly restrictive environment for civil society and internet censorship.

Mogherinis first meeting Wednesday, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, was canceled. A foreign ministry official said the EU delegation had informed them that Mogherini was feeling unwell.

She will give a speech at Beijings prestigious Tsinghua University on Thursday, and then travel to India and Russia.

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China, European Union push message of free trade, engagement - The Denver Post