The rise of Avigdor Lieberman as the kingmaker of Israeli politics is a disaster for American supporters of Israel and for U.S. interests in the region, albeit not entirely a surprise, at least to regular visitors to this space. The circumstance of his entry into the...
The Great Gamble
"Iacta alea est" – the die is cast – said Julius Caesar and crossed the River Rubicon on his way to conquer Rome. That was the end of Roman democracy. We don't have a Julius Caesar. But we do have an Avigdor Lieberman. When he announced his support...
Empire at the End of Its Rope
It is difficult to avoid the perception, as the U.S. (and world) economy continues to melt down, that our political leaders are suffering something resembling a mass delusion or even a group psychosis. One may hope that the insertion of 17,000 more U.S. troops into...
Should AIPAC Decide What’s Classified?
On Feb. 17, Judge T.S. Ellis added a new twist in the case of two former American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) executives indicted under the 1917 Espionage Act. In what the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Secrecy News describe as a major blow to the...
Sunday: 7 Iraqis Killed, 17 Wounded
Updated at 8:15 p.m. EST, Feb. 22, 2009At least seven Iraqis were killed and another 17 were wounded in the latest violence. Meanwhile, security forces are on the lookout for an Iraqi lawmaker accused of terrorist activities, while joint U.S. and Iraqi forces launched...
Iraqi Doctors in Hiding Treat as They Can
Seventy percent of Iraq's doctors are reported to have fled the war-torn country in the face of death threats and kidnappings. Those who remain live in fear, often in conditions close to house arrest. "I was threatened I would be killed because I was working for...
Border Politics Slows Aid to Gaza
Egyptian authorities are continuing to prevent humanitarian aid from crossing the border into the Gaza Strip, according to local sources. "Until now, only about a quarter of all humanitarian aid to arrive in Egypt has made it across the border into Gaza,"...
Saturday: 2 U.S. Soldiers, 4 Iraqis Killed; 9 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 11:02 p.m. ESt, Feb. 21, 2009At least four Iraqis were killed and 9 more were wounded during light violence. A U.S. soldier was killed in combat in Baghdad, while the DoD reported another soldier died from non-combat-related injuries. Also, Iraqi officials...
The Greatest Threat to Our National Security
Our new Director of National Intelligence has some good news [.pdf] for you soccer-moms. Your primary "near-term security concern" no longer needs to be the prospect of getting nuked in your jammies by Muslim terrorists who have somehow managed to get their...
Obama Nixed Full Afghan Surge After Quizzing Brass
President Barack Obama decided to approve only 17,000 of the 30,000 troops requested by Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and Gen. David Petraeus, the CENTCOM commander, after McKiernan was unable to tell him how they...