Month: December 2012

America’s Wars: The Gifts That Keep on Giving

The U.S. government recently designated the Syrian opposition group Jabhat al-Nusra Front a foreign terrorist organization. The move was designed to built Western support against the Syrian government by alleviating fears that money and weapons donated to the opposition would flow to a militant group. The designation means that Americans cannot have financial ties to … Continue reading “America’s Wars: The Gifts That Keep on Giving”

The True Costs of Empire

Mars? Venus? Earth-like bodies elsewhere in the galaxy? Who knows? But here, at least, no great power, no superpower, no hyperpower, not the Romans, nor imperial China, nor the British, nor the Soviet Union has ever garrisoned the globe quite the way we have: Asia to Latin America, Europe to the Greater Middle East, and … Continue reading “The True Costs of Empire”

Destiny and Decline

The poet Robinson Jeffers isn’t thought of as a foreign policy theorist: his oeuvre, when it is remembered at all, is generally reduced to a crude sort of nature worship, combined with a misanthropic leave-me-alone-I-don’t-want-to-hear-it view of life. He considered humankind a blight on the planet, and is today embraced by the global warming crowd … Continue reading “Destiny and Decline”

The Civilian Toll of Israel’s Bombs

GAZA CITY — When Israeli bombs struck the Abu Khadra complex for civil administration, they also gutted the sixth floor of the Abu Shabaan complex, located 10 meters across the road. According to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), eight Israeli warplane-fired bombs leveled roughly half of the government compound in eastern Gaza City … Continue reading “The Civilian Toll of Israel’s Bombs”

Expanding Covert Warfare Makes Us Less Safe

Earlier this month we learned that the Obama administration is significantly expanding the number of covert Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) agents overseas. From just a few hundred DIA agents overseas today, the administration intends to eventually deploy some 1,600 covert agents. The nature of their work will also shift, away from intelligence collection and more … Continue reading “Expanding Covert Warfare Makes Us Less Safe”

Anatomy of a Mali Intervention

Gauging U.S. military policy — at least on a meta level — isn’t as hard as it looks, as long as you remember a few general axioms: like, what seems to be true today, will almost certainly change tomorrow, and never, ever listen to a four-star commander when he says “direct U.S. intervention is unlikely.” … Continue reading “Anatomy of a Mali Intervention”

‘He’s Killing His Own People!’

“He’s killing his own people!” It’s a familiar refrain to those of us who’ve been paying attention the past decade or so: it’s what our leaders in both parties said about Saddam Hussein by way of justifying the invasion and occupation of Iraq, and it’s what they’re saying now about Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, who … Continue reading “‘He’s Killing His Own People!’”

Hitham’s Tale

Just weeks ago, Gazans were pummeled once again by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). With its mighty arsenal of drones, fighter jets, and cruise missiles, the IDF is the most powerful military machine in the region. Its capability is further augmented by steadfast support from the only superpower in the world. Hamas’s most potent weapons … Continue reading “Hitham’s Tale”