How Booz Allen Made the Revolving Door Redundant
Edward Snowden, a low-level employee of Booz Allen Hamilton who blew the whistle on the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), unexpectedly exposed a powerful and seamless segment of the military-industrial complex – the world of contractors that consumes some 70 percent of this country’s 52-billion-dollar intelligence budget. Some commentators have pounced on Snowden’s disclosures to [...]
A Reluctant Warrior Tiptoes to War
Barack Obama has just taken his first baby steps into a war in Syria that may define and destroy his presidency. Thursday, while he was ringing in Gay Pride Month with LGBT revelers, a staffer, Ben Rhodes, informed the White House press that U.S. weapons will be going to the Syrian rebels. For two years [...]
Forget WWZ Movie, Read the Book
Vlahos on how Hollywood still doesn’t get it
David Brooks, Tom Friedman, Bill Keller Wish Snowden Had Just Followed Order
Edward Snowden’s disclosures, the New York Times reported on Sunday, "have renewed a longstanding concern: that young Internet aficionados whose skills the agencies need for counterterrorism and cyberdefense sometimes bring an anti-authority spirit that does not fit the security bureaucracy." Agencies like the NSA and CIA – and private contractors like Booz Allen – can’t [...]
Bombings Return to Central Iraq; 23 Killed
At least 23 Iraqis were killed and 79 more were wounded in today’s attacks.
Obama’s Syria Policy Looks a Lot Like Bush’s Iraq Policy
President Obama announced late last week that the US intelligence community had just determined that the Syrian government had used poison gas on a small scale, killing some 100 people in a civil conflict that has claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. Because of this use of gas, the president claimed, Syria had crossed his “red [...]
The Making of a Global Security State
As happens with so much news these days, the Edward Snowden revelations about National Security Agency (NSA) spying and just how far we’ve come in the building of a surveillance state have swept over us 24/7 – waves of leaks, videos, charges, claims, counterclaims, skullduggery, and government threats When a flood sweeps you away, it’s [...]
A Note to My Readers
I have some personal business to take care of today, which accounts for the lack of a column. I’ll be back on Wednesday. NOTES IN THE MARGIN You can check out my Twitter feed by going here. But please note that my tweets are sometimes deliberately provocative, often made in jest, and largely consist of [...]
Iraq’s Shi’ite South Targeted: 54 Killed, 174 Wounded
A surge in attacks that began last month resumed after several days of relatively light violence. Shi’ites were targeted in today’s hostilities. Because several of the bombings occurred in southern cities unaccustomed to daily or even weekly attacks, the violence was likely coordinated. Overall, at least 43 Iraqis were killed and 149 more were wounded.
23 Killed Across Iraq; Mortar Attack on Iranian Dissident Camp
Fresh attacks left 21 Iraqis dead and 12 wounded. Two Iranians were also killed, and 40 more were wounded.
