Recently, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that they had agreed on key provisions of a security arrangement that could allow some American forces in Afghanistan to remain after the NATO combat mission ends at the end of...
Suicide Bombers, Gunmen Leave 47 Dead, 97 Wounded Across Iraq
Ode to Miriam Carey, Post-9/11 Harbinger
Last week, about 90 mourners gathered to lay to rest the woman who was shot and killed by Washington police as she sat in her car, her one-year-old child, by a miracle one would say, found unharmed in the back seat. There were no television cameras, no celebrities in...
The Coming Era of Tiny Wars and Micro-Conflicts
Originally posted at TomDispatch. In terms of pure projectable power, there’s never been anything like it. Its military has divided the world – the whole planet – into six "commands." Its fleet, with 11 aircraft carrier battle groups, rules the seas and has...
Gunmen Attack Police As Baghdad Sees More Bombings, 22 Killed
The Times They Are a-Changin’
There are no major stories to cover, but lots of seemingly minor ones that all point to major trends in the works. Let’s start with the news that the Heritage Foundation is "censoring" pro-surveillance material coming out of that policy-wonk factory: yes,...
Baghdad Blast Drives Casualty Toll to 92 Killed, 120 Wounded
Iran Hawks Down but Not Out After Geneva Talks
Iran hawks here are pushing hard for Congress, where they enjoy the greatest influence, to approve a new set of extra-territorial sanctions – albeit with some tactical adjustments to take account of the newly hopeful mood coming out of Geneva – before the next round...
15 Killed in Fresh Iraq Attacks
Fractured Opposition Could Derail Syria Talks
Despite U.S. and Western pressure on the opposition to take part in U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the two-and-a-half-year-old Syrian civil war, most experts here believe the rebels are unlikely to show up any time soon. And even if they do, the results will be...