Messy Endgame in the Afghan War
President Obama has announced that all U.S. forces will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, just before he leaves office. By taking this action, Obama is finally saying "touché" to a military brass that he believed sandbagged him in...
Don’t Walk Away from War
Originally posted at TomDispatch. The United States has been at war – major boots-on-the-ground conflicts and minor interventions, firefights, air strikes, drone assassination campaigns, occupations, special ops raids, proxy conflicts, and covert actions – nearly...
A Note to My Readers
I've been plagued with kidney stones recently and I'm afraid I'm in no shape to write today: but these things tend to pass rather quickly (no pun intended!) so I'll be back at the usual stand on Friday.
Several Iraq Cities Fall to Militants; 36 Killed, 69 Wounded in Other Regions
Libya: A Cautionary Tale
Libya is teetering on the verge of its worst crisis since the 2011 overthrow of the Gaddafi regime. Last month, forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar launched a brazen assault on the sitting national congress in Tripoli, accusing the Islamist-dominated parliament of...
Northern Iraq Under Siege: 123 Killed, 261 Wounded
Taliban Prisoner Swap: A Fact-Free Controversy
It’s time to ask: Is John McCain losing it? At 77, the irascible Arizona Senator has become the "get off my lawn" cranky-old-man symbol of the GOP’s generational problem, but it’s gotten worse lately, with his most recent pronouncements on the Bowe...
Obama’s Foreign Policy Rhetoric Does Not Match US Actions
President Obama’s recent foreign policy speech, delivered at this year’s West Point graduation ceremony, was a disappointment to anyone who hoped the president might be changing course. The failure of each US intervention thus far in the 21st century might...
Leaving the USS Liberty Crew Behind
On June 8, 1967, Israeli leaders learned they could deliberately attack a U.S. Navy ship and try to send it, together with its entire crew, to the bottom of the Mediterranean – with impunity. Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats attacked the USS Liberty, a...