Month: January 2010

Israel Cool to New US Pressure

JERUSALEM – In the past, whenever there was even a semblance of pressure from Washington on Israel, nerves in Jerusalem went all a-jangle. Nine months ago, true to form, tensions rose appreciably when then-new U.S. President Barack Obama and then-new Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu clashed at the White House. Not so now. The hint that … Continue reading “Israel Cool to New US Pressure”

Too Many Dots, Too Many Enemies

As intelligence agencies rush to connect more dots on a page so crowded with dots that they already almost touch, Americans need to focus on the real problem, our foreign policies. We have made ourselves the enemy of over a billion people, nearly a quarter of the world’s population. Aside from President Obama’s Bush-sounding, bombastic … Continue reading “Too Many Dots, Too Many Enemies”

Yemen: The Backstory

The United States may be on the verge of involvement in yet another counterinsurgency war that, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, may make a bad situation even worse. The attempted Christmas Day bombing, apparently planned in Yemen, of a Northwest Airlines flight by a Nigerian, the alleged ties between the perpetrator of the Ft. Hood … Continue reading “Yemen: The Backstory”

Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – "We aren’t going to be browbeaten by acts of cowardice and [will] continue exposing Taliban and [other] militants," said an angry Shamim Shahid, president of the Peshawar Press Club (PPC). The spate of media killings in Pakistan in the year just past – and the likelihood that it could continue unabated this … Continue reading “Pakistan: Vestiges of War, Hopes for Peace”

Gaza Extremists Drifting Toward al-Qaeda?

RAMALLAH – Two separate bomb attacks on Internet cafes in Gaza last week have served as an uncomfortable reminder that extremist groups within the coastal territory may be stronger than the moderate Hamas organization that rules the strip. The attacks in Khan Yunis preceded a warning in a study, due to be released this week … Continue reading “Gaza Extremists Drifting Toward al-Qaeda?”

Monday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 13 Wounded

Updated at 8:48 p.m. EST, Jan. 11, 2010 At least three Iraqis were killed and 13 more were wounded in light violence. Among them is one election employee, only one of several who have suffered thanks to their connection to the March poll. Security officials are focused today on two Saddam-era mass graves hundreds of … Continue reading “Monday: 3 Iraqis Killed, 13 Wounded”

The COIN Myth

The U.S. military’s fabled counterinsurgency field manual (FM 3-24) is an authoritative-sounding 281-page volume of balderdash. Even the legend of its origin is a fabrication. Gen. David Petraeus, former commander of forces in Iraq and now in charge of Central Command, supposedly "wrote the book," but the book was actually hammered together from plagiarized material … Continue reading “The COIN Myth”

The Quiet American

The quiet American was the hero of Graham Greene’s novel about the first Vietnam War, the one fought by the French. He was a young and naïve American, a professor’s son who had enjoyed a good education at Harvard, an idealist with all the best intentions. When he was sent to Vietnam, he wanted to … Continue reading “The Quiet American”