Reports of violence were scant today, possibly because Hajj observances begin tomorrow in Mecca. Only two Iraqis were killed and one more was wounded. Also, gunmen, reportedly using a thermal bomb, killed a U.S. soldier in Kirkuk yesterday. He is the first servicemember to die in combat since President Obama, on Oct. 21, said the White House had given up on negotiations to keep troops in Iraq past a Dec. 31 deadline. Another attack on U.S. troops today left no casualties.
read moreMe and OFAC and Ahmed the Egyptian
The big war news on the front page of the New York Times last weekend was headlined: "U.S. Is Planning Buildup in Gulf After Iraq Exit." Its first sentence: "The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf...
Israel’s Big Bluff
No Party for Smart Men
There is no room in the Republican Party today for a noninterventionist conservative, at least in presidential politics. This flies in the face of many hopeful signals and predictions over the last year among conservative and libertarian writers — including some on...
Bombers Strike Big in Iraq for Second Day in a Row
Updated at 5:21 p.m. EDT, Nov. 3, 2011
For a second day in a row, bombers were successful in amassing a large number of casualties in a single coordinated attack. Today’s main blasts occurred at a military base near Baquba. Overall, at least 18 Iraqis were killed and 56 more were wounded in this attack and other violence. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are angling to keep a high-profile detainee in their custody.
read moreUS House Committee Okays Sweeping Sanctions on Iran
Amid growing tensions in the Middle East, including speculation about a possible Israeli attack on Iran, a key U.S. congressional committee Wednesday approved two bills that would impose sweeping new economic and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran. The legislation,...
The Merchants of Death and Me
I attended a recent talk on “defense cooperation” between the United States and the Arab world. Inevitably, no one on the panel of five bothered to ask why the United States should be fueling an arms race by selling to nearly every country in the region, but as each...
The Imperial Boomerang Returns
The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home. – James Madison House Raids, Murder, and Other Aggression The war in Iraq has been conducted using “urban warfare” tactics including the raiding of Iraqi homes. On...
ISAF Data: Night Raids Killed Over 1,500 Afghan Civilians
U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF) killed well over 1,500 civilians in night raids in less than 10 months in 2010 and early 2011, analysis of official statistics on the raids released by the U.S.-NATO command reveals. That number would make U.S. night raids by far...
Closing Overseas Bases Is Good Policy and Good Politics
It has been like a cross between a suspense and a horror movie. If the committee doesn’t come up with a compromise by the Thanksgiving deadline, the axes will come out. Perhaps only Washington insiders appreciate the suspense. As for the horror part, the blood will...
