Month: August 2007

Onward – Into Waziristan!

With Hillary Clinton’s lead growing, Barack Obama appears to be overreaching to keep the spotlight and highlight their differences. His suggestion that sex education begin in kindergarten seems a great leap forward even for a liberal Democrat. While Barack says it must be “age-appropriate” sex education, one need not be Roger Ailes to imagine what … Continue reading “Onward – Into Waziristan!”

America’s Last Successful Mideast War

Americans who know any history – there may be a couple of dozen left – are all familiar with America’s first Mideast war, that against Tripoli under President Jefferson. Far less well known is our war with Algiers in 1815. A nicely-written new book, The End of Barbary Terror (well, for a while, anyway) by … Continue reading “America’s Last Successful Mideast War”

Media Blitz for War: The Big Guns of August

This week the U.S. media establishment is mainlining another fix for the Iraq war: It isn’t so bad after all, American military power could turn wrong into right, chronic misleaders now serve as truth-tellers. The hit is that the war must go on. When the White House chief of staff Andrew Card said five years … Continue reading “Media Blitz for War: The Big Guns of August”

Threatening the All-Volunteer Force

A collective madness has captured Washington, D.C. Actually, that’s not news. Washington often has been captured by collective madness. One of the latest and strangest episodes is the belief that America must increase the size of its armed forces. All of the leading presidential candidates want to boost the number of service personnel. After resisting … Continue reading “Threatening the All-Volunteer Force”

Thursday: 3 GIs, 116 Iraqis Killed; 76 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 11:25 p.m. EDT, August 2, 2007At least 116 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 76 more were wounded in the latest attacks. The Iraqi government said that civilian deaths increased dramatically in July. Also, three GIs were killed in separate events. A 13th SC(E) Soldier was killed and two others were wounded … Continue reading “Thursday: 3 GIs, 116 Iraqis Killed; 76 Iraqis Wounded”

Obama Would Focus Terror Fight on Afghanistan

Sen. Barack Obama, a leading candidate in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Tuesday he would make Afghanistan the focus of U.S. anti-terror efforts and unilaterally strike terrorist targets across the border in Pakistan if the government of President Pervez Musharraf failed to do so. In a major policy address delivered at the … Continue reading “Obama Would Focus Terror Fight on Afghanistan”

The Benchmarks That Matter

Under the headline, “A War We Just Might Win,” the New York Times on Monday published an op-ed by Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution and Kenneth Pollack, both referred to as critics of the way the Bush administration has “handled” the war in Iraq. (Pollack had, in fact, been a major cheerleader for the … Continue reading “The Benchmarks That Matter”

Wednesday: 6 GIs, 1 Briton, 178 Iraqis Killed; 188 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 12:17 a.m. EDT, Aug. 2, 2007Violence returned at full throttle to Baghdad as several large bombings killed dozens of people on a day that the Sunni bloc quit the Iraqi government. Overall, 178 Iraqis were killed and 188 were wounded during the latest round of attacks. Also, 18 Iraqis were kidnapped at a … Continue reading “Wednesday: 6 GIs, 1 Briton, 178 Iraqis Killed; 188 Iraqis Wounded”

US-India Nuke Deal May Spark Asian Arms Race

UNITED NATIONS – The U.S. decision last week to proceed with a controversial civilian nuclear deal with India has triggered strong negative responses from peace activists, disarmament experts, and anti-nuclear groups. "The development of a nuclear/strategic alliance between the United States and India may promote arms racing between India and Pakistan, and [between] India and … Continue reading “US-India Nuke Deal May Spark Asian Arms Race”