In my 1950s childhood, Ripley's Believe It or Not was part of everyday life, a syndicated comics page feature where you could stumble upon such mind-boggling facts as: "If all the Chinese in the world were to march four abreast past a given point, they would never...
Afghanistan as a Drug War
A front-page New York Times article by Rod Nordland on the aftermath of a recent U.S. Marine offensive in Helmand province, opium poppy-growing capital of the planet, began this way: "The effort to win over Afghans on former Taliban turf in Marjah has put...
When Was the Last Time You Visited Iraq?
Truth and Consequences in the Middle East
Considering the Obama administration's ever wobblier attempt to impose "crippling sanctions" on Iran, the New York Times' David Sanger recently wrote, "The delays and the potential for a substantially watered-down resolution, Mr. Obama's allies say,...
Failing Afghanistan’s Cops
Police training has been a crucial part of American counterinsurgency warfare and global policy for a long, long time. During the American occupation of Haiti, which began in 1915, the establishment and training of an American-led Gendarmerie d'Haiti would contribute...
The Pentagon Church Militant and Us
Premature Withdrawal
Pacific Pushback
How to Fight a Better War (Next Time)
Iraq remains a mess from which the U.S. military seems increasingly uninterested in withdrawing fully and Afghanistan a disaster area, but it's never too soon to think about the next war. The subject is already on the minds of Pentagon planners. The question is: Are...
Fixing What’s Wrong in Washington… in Afghanistan
Explain something to me. In recent months, unless you were insensate, you couldn't help running across someone talking, writing, speaking, or pontificating about how busted government is in the United States. State governments are increasingly broke and getting...


