Month: November 2014

So you worry that the Islamist fanatics we’re funding in Syria will be no different from the Islamist fanatics we supported during the 1980s in Afghanistan who morphed into Al Qaeda? There’s no need to fret, my friend – because science is coming to the rescue! The US government is oh-so-very-carefully "vetting" the Syrian rebels, … Continue reading “‘Common Core’ for Jihadists”

It seems nobody wants to be Secretary of Defense in the Obama administration. The president’s first two Defense Secretaries, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, both complained bitterly this month about their time in the administration. The president’s National Security Council staff micro-managed the Pentagon, they said at a forum last week. Former Secretary Gates revealed … Continue reading “Who Wants To Be Defense Secretary?”

Originally posted at TomDispatch. Introduction, Sunday, November 24, 2014: When I scanned the front page of the New York Times one recent morning and spotted this headline, “In a Shift, Obama Extends U.S. Role in Afghan Combat,” I instantly wanted to pick up the phone. It was an urge I had to repress by reminding … Continue reading “Seeing the Reality of the Vietnam War, 50 Years Late”

At least 110 people were killed and 15 more were wounded, as Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi revealed that 50,000 “ghost soldiers” were on the military payroll.

Few militant casualties were reported today. However, at least 40 people were killed. No wounded were reported.

At least 126 people were killed, mostly militants. Another 38 were wounded.

When news reports alleged that the two cousins behind the Jerusalem synagogue attack on 18 November were affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a level of confusion reigned. Why the PFLP? Why now? The attack killed five Israelis and wounded others. It was, to a degree, an expected addition to a … Continue reading “The Rise and Fall of Palestine’s Socialists”

At least 181 people were killed and 14 were wounded in fresh violence. Most of the casualties occurred during fighting near Kirkuk.

On November 21, the third film in the Hunger Games series was released. Mockingjay, Part 1 continues the films’ habits of improving upon their earnest, and gratuitously violent Young Adult novel origins. This is thanks to the brilliance of Jennifer Lawrence’s performance, and a general habit of the filmmakers of taking author Suzanne Collins’ story … Continue reading “War in Mockingjay and the Hunger Games Series”

President Obama has authorized "a more expansive mission for the military in Afghanistan in 2015 than originally planned". Imagine that, like the late U.S. war veteran Jacob George, you’re sent on this "more expansive mission". Your military helicopter is landing on farmland amidst mud-house villages, like a futuristic war machine inserted into an agricultural community … Continue reading “Not Again, Mr. Obama! On ‘A More Expansive Mission’ in Afghanistan!”