War on Terror
It looks like the Obama administration is casting about for some excuse to do the wrong thing in Afghanistan: Before President Obama commits additional troops to Afghanistan, the United States needs assurances that Afghan leaders preside over a stable government that is seen as legitimate in the eyes of its citizens, top Democratic officials said…
I’m a little slow to this one, but inasmuch as it hasn’t gotten much coverage, it’s worth a little catch-up: The Justice Department is investigating a group of lawyers working for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for taking pictures of covert CIA agents at Guantanamo Bay and handing them over to known al Qaida…
Charles Krauthammer on Obama’s French Lesson: Sarkozy could not conceal his astonishment at Obama’s naivete Jennifer Rubin on Selling Our Souls Andy McCarthy on If you don’t get Islamic ideology, you don’t get the problem in Afghanistan; follow the links, too Richard Cohen on Does Obama Have the Backbone? Milton Friedman on Greed Steven Hayward…
Mark Bowden characterizes recent counterinsurgency methods not as “nation building” so much as a strategy in war: Counter-insurgency doctrine is as warm and fuzzy as war can get. It embraces distinctly liberal, humanistic values like protecting civilians, cultural sensitivity and rigid adherence to ethical standards and the law. It is geared toward partnership, not dominance,…
Well isn’t that what always happens? Tension. Ease. Tension. Ease. And always Iran moves a little closer to nuclear capability. With consequences such as this looming over the country’s head, I’m sure Iran understands how serious the United States is: Tehran “must grant unfettered access” to international inspectors within two weeks, he said, warning that…
By coincidence, each of the past two days brought a question from somebody about my political beginnings. The answer to the when is 9/11. Practical philosophy had always been appealing to me, but it had previously followed a literary and cultural context, rather than a political one. That changed on a September morning. It wouldn’t…