The U.S. military, “witch burning,” negotiations with Iran, among other affairs. Emphasis, as always, added. A “fundamental problem with COIN.” Where foreign forces go, violence follows. . . . a wave of “insider-attacks,” perpetrated by members of the Afghan security forces, has killed 60 coalition troops this year (compared with 35 last year). Leon Panetta […]
A roundtable: Is the Taliban losing?
A panel of experts looks at the U.S. and NATO end game in Afghanistan. Cross-posted from the Foreign Policy in Focus Blog Focal Points. Recent coverage of Afghanistan by Newsweek-slash-the Daily Beast has been illuminating. On December 30 Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau wrote: A shroud of anxiety hangs over the coming year in Afghanistan. […]
America gets divorced: what about custody of the energy and the nukes?
Part three in a series. First look at this map: Now this one, which indicates the location of US military installations:
Spasms of sensible thinking from surprising sources
My stars, what have we here? Two surprisingly sensible comments on defence spending from sources I would not have expected. First up, Philip Hammond, Minister for Defence in Britain’s coalition government, who has now decided that maybe there are things that the private sector can’t do as well as the public sector. The background is, […]
When old hawks retract their talons
The annals of national security are replete with retired generals expressing second thoughts about how militarized the United States has become.
In the era of terrorism, whom have we become?
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. When a Hellfire missile fired from a drone aircraft operated by the Central Intelligence Agency struck ground in […]
Would America have been better off with President McCain?
by Guy Saperstein As we think ahead toward 2012, ponder this: Consider the possibility that we would be better off if John McCain had won in 2008. Heresy? Yes, but think about a few important points. Although TARP was passed during Bush’s Presidency, it really was the beginning of Obama’s term, as it could not […]
Bin Laden's death, the end of a 21st Century Hitler
by Jane Briggs-Bunting Osama Bin Laden is dead. The first news reports gave me an eerie feeling to know he died with a bullet to his head. It seemed more like a hit than a battle at that time. My Christian sensibilities rebelled at the thought of assassination and murder even of such an evil […]
The Obama-Gates maneuver on military spending
Tension between President Obama and Secretary of Defense Gates over military spending may have been scripted. The shell game that defense cuts have become underscores the need for an independent review of the budget.
A simple country boy's solution to the budget "crisis"
Some conservatives see all these fact-laden critiques of our various GOP manufactroversies (see Ryan, Paul) and wonder where are the Democratic plans to solve the financial crisis? (I have been asked this, quite vehemently, myself.) The informed reply goes something like this: The crisis isn’t real. It’s been fabricated by the neo-liberal politicians whose goal […]
The town the War of 1812 built
by Talbot Eckweiler Part four in a five-part series. Constance Barone sits at her office desk and adjusts her spectacles. For the last eight years, she’s been the site manager for Sackets Harbor Historic Site near Watertown, New York. In 2012, the site will celebrate its bicentennial anniversary as one of the major sites of the […]






