VP Debate: Afghanistan Surge?
One of the interesting points of contention in last night's vice presidential debate between Delaware Senator Joe Biden and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was on the topic of whether an Iraq-style surge would work in Afghanistan. Earlier in the day, Army General David McKiernan (or, as he's sometimes known in Alaska, "McClellan"), commander of NATO's International Security and Assistance Force ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on October 3, 2008 14:07
Afghanistan is Not Enough
Michael J. Totten takes exception to the frequently expressed view that "the war on terrorism started in Afghanistan and it needs to end there." In my New Atlanticist essay "Afghanistan: Necessary But Not Sufficient," I explain why he's right. My conclusion: Defeating the Taliban and its al Qaeda allies there and in neighboring Pakistan is vital to regional security and failure ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on September 30, 2008 13:17
Kenneth Anderson on the Russia-Georgia Conflict
You might want to take a look at law prof Kenneth Anderson's observations on the Russia-Georgia conflict at Opinio Juris (hat tip: Glenn Reynolds). His observations rest on four legs: Russia is undertaking an expansion into its “near abroad” and should be opposed. NATO has closed the door on reforms that would have recruited Russia into its membership and will ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 24, 2008 16:59
NATO Toothless in Georgia Situation?
Charles Krauthammer has a scathing column this morning excoriating NATO for its weak response to the Georgia crisis. He observes that NATO's recent statement on the matter is "almost comically evenhanded." It's not until paragraph six that NATO, a 26-nation alliance with 900 million people and nearly half of world GDP, unsheathes its mighty sword, boldly declaring "Russian military action" -- ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 22, 2008 07:06
Did U.S. Provoke Geogia-Russia Conflict?
Josh Marshall argues that Georgia's move to re-establish control over South Ossetia and Russia's subsequent invasion are the fault of the United States, because "we pumped the Georgians up as our big Iraq allies, got them revved up about coming into NATO, playing all this pipeline politics, all of which led them to have a much more aggressive posture toward ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 17, 2008 08:54
Russia Threatens Poland with Military Strike
Those arguing that Russia's invasion of Georgia was a one-off and that Russia was unlikely to flex their muscles further into their near abroad may have to rethink that position: A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a U.S. missile interceptor base exposes the ex-communist nation to attack, possibly by nuclear weapons, the Interfax news agency reported. ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 15, 2008 15:38
John McCain: Shadow President?
John McCain is taking advantage of Barack Obama's "foreign vacation" in Hawaii and using the crisis in Georgia to showcase his foreign policy prowess. He's dispatched his minions, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, to Georgia. TPM's Greg Sargent figures, The idea is to showcase himself as a man of action during a time of international crisis and to remind people that the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 14, 2008 08:47
Russia Orders Georgia ‘Cease-Fire’
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has ordered what the press is describing as a "cease-fire" in Georgia. Given that he is not withdrawing Russian forces and is going to keep killing Georgian troops in South Ossetia in violation of international law, however, that term doesn't quite seem to fit. NYT: The president said Russia had achieved its military goals during five days ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 12, 2008 08:14
Russia Makes Move on Abkhazia
Emboldened by the lack of international response to its invasion of Georgia to take South Ossetia, Russia has began Phase 2: the taking of Abkhazia. Swarms of Russian jets launched new raids on Georgian territory Monday and Georgia faced the threat of a second front of fighting as Russia demanded that Georgia disarm troops near the breakaway province of Abkhazia. While a ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 11, 2008 09:17
Georgian Forces Retreat, Wonder Where Friends Are
Georgian forces have been routed and have retreated from their South Ossetia province after being outmatched by the Russians. Now, many Georgians are wondering where their Western allies are. Tony Halpin for The Times of London: As a Russian jet bombed fields around his village, Djimali Avago, a Georgian farmer, asked me: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on August 11, 2008 08:50
