Most Americans Now See Iraq And Afghanistan Wars As Failures
Most Americans now see America’s decade of war as a failure.
Alexandros Petersen Killed in Taliban Attack
Dr. Alexandros Petersen, a scholar of Eurasian energy and a former colleague at the Atlantic Council, was killed in a bomb blast in Kabul.
Robert Gates: Invading Iraq Diverted Attention From The War On Terror
Former SecDef Robert Gates is among those who believes that the Iraq War unduly diverted attention from fighting the War On Terror.
A U.S.-Saudi Rift, Or Just A Saudi Temper Tantrum?
Relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia seem to have soured in recent years.
NSC Nonproliferation Director Fired for Tweeting
Jofi Joseph was unmasked as the obnoxious @NatSecWonk and fired by the White House.
OTB Caption Contest Winners
The One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.
Army Cracks Down on Tattoos
My latest for Defense One, “The Army’s Misguided Crackdown on Tattoos,” has posted.
Limited Strikes, Limited Utility, Unlimited Fallout
We’re almost certainly going to launch punitive strikes against Syria. They’ll almost certainly be ineffective.
Obama Job Approval On Foreign Policy Hits Low In New Poll
President Obama is losing public support in the one area where he’s generally had broad support from the public in the past.
Afghan Troops Can’t Maintain Humvees, Either
On the eve of transition to solo operations, Afghan forces can’t do basic logistical functions.
Pentagon’s Broken Payroll System
The military’s finance and accounting system has been dysfunctional for decades and is getting worse.
Frustration With Karzai Pushing Obama Toward “Zero Option” In Afghanistan
Frustrations with the mercurial leader of Afghanistan may increase the pace of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Joyner Unfair to Krugman
A decade ago. a certain New York Times columnist was more right than your humble host.
Syrian Rebels Today, Syrian Taliban Tomorrow
Radical Islamists now dominate the Syrian opposition. And you’re arming them.
Yes, Bush Administration Used Torture
A bipartisan commission of elder statesmen confirms what we’ve known for years.
Shooting Sprees vs Organized Terrorist Attacks
We treat violence by lone individuals differently than organized violence. Race, religion, and national origin have nothing to do with that.
Atlantic Scientology Advertorial
Monday, The Atlantic published and took down a sponsored article from the church of Scientology. Yesterday, it admitted it had “screwed up.”
Zero U.S. Troops In Afghanistan After 2014 A Possibility
The idea of completely pulling out of Afghanistan after 2014 is very compelling.
The Petraeus Scandal And The Surveillance State
If nothing else, the Petraeus affair is teaching us a valuable lesson in just how extensive the Surveillance State has become.
White House Throwing State Department Under The Bus?
A round of finger pointing in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack.
Afghanistan Eleven Years And 2,000 American Deaths Later
The Afghanistan War is officially eleven years old today.
U.S. Abandoning Plan For Peace Deal With Taliban Before Withdrawal
Slowly but surely, we’re giving up on Afghanistan.
The Afghan Surge Was A Failure
The Afghan Surge announced by President Obama in December 2009 is over. By any objective measurement, it was a failure.
