UNITED NATIONS - Against the backdrop of a major summit meeting of world leaders on nuclear non-proliferation hosted by the United States, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed strong doubts about the long-standing proposal to create a nuclear-free zone in the...
Liberals Smear Wikileaks
Activists intent on releasing evidence of crimes committed by a powerful government are harassed and followed by police and intelligence agents: a restaurant in which they are meeting comes under surveillance, and, subsequently, one of their number is detained by the...
Gods and Monsters
The Greeks had it right. When you live on Mount Olympus, your view of humanity is qualitatively different. The Greek gods, after all, lied to, stole from, lusted for, and punished humanity without mercy, while taking the planet for a spin in a manner that we mortals...
Obama’s Nuclear-Weapons Conference Fatally Flawed Before It Began
The meeting on nuclear security convoked by Barack Obama this week was meant to prevent nuclear proliferation. This is a worthy cause, but – while I am writing before the meeting closes – I would assume that it will at best produce empty promises, as the...
Tuesday: 8 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
Ignorance of Afghan Society Led to Botched Raids
A Special Operations Forces raid on Feb. 12 on what was supposed to be the compound of a Taliban leader but that killed three women and two Afghan government officials demonstrated a fatal weakness of the U.S. military engagement in Afghanistan: after eight years of...
Katyn and ‘The Good War’
The decapitation of the Polish government last weekend, including President Lech Kaczynski and the military leadership, on that flight to Smolensk to commemorate the Katyn Massacre, brings to mind the terrible and tragic days and deeds of what many yet call the Good...
COIN of the Realm
The short version of an old joke about U.S. defense spending goes like this: An overweight nuclear submarine skipper baffles the congressional defense appropriations subcommittees with a line of technical gobbledygook Einstein wouldn't understand, and the...
Guantanamo Detainee Ordered Freed
After nine years in captivity, a U.S. federal court has ordered the release of a Guantanamo prisoner once described as the "highest-value detainee at the facility" – and set off a firestorm of protest from Republican lawmakers. Federal District Judge...