Kelley B. Vlahos

Kelley Beaucar Vlahos, a Washington, D.C.-based freelance writer, is a longtime political reporter for FoxNews.com and a contributing editor at The American Conservative. She is also a Washington correspondent for Homeland Security Today magazine. Her Twitter account is @KelleyBVlahos.

Jeremy Scahill’s ‘Dirty’ Work

Jeremy Scahill’s new book, Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield, is sort of like approaching a dark cavity in an old tree. How many of us would instinctively cry out, “I don’t want to look – there will be creepy crawly things in there and I’m better off not knowing!” Life is filled with … Continue reading “Jeremy Scahill’s ‘Dirty’ Work”

People Vanishing from Iraq War History

Ten years and the scripted media narrative of the Iraq War — now receding into the rear-view of our embarrassingly short American memory — is about as satisfying as the obligatory drum solo at your standard 1980’s rock concert. In other words, a milquetoast, factory-wrapped history of the war is hardening like a stale taffy … Continue reading “People Vanishing from Iraq War History”

A Kangaroo Court at Last

Kangaroo Court: 1.) a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted For years, activists have been referring to the military tribunal system at Guantanamo Bay as a “kangaroo court.” Evidence pouring in from the island compound and from the U.S Military Commissions office in Washington indicate this invective … Continue reading “A Kangaroo Court at Last”

Beware Lawyers Bearing AUMF Fix

Beware lawyers bearing bright ideas on how to resolve the ticking clock on White House authority to conduct counterterrorism operations across the globe. The silver tongues of rhetoric and reason may say current law need only an “update,” but their remedies would have just one, terrible effect: permanently institutionalizing not only the Global War on … Continue reading “Beware Lawyers Bearing AUMF Fix”

The Intrepid Donna Mulhearn

Donna Mulhearn in Fallujah While the media was gearing up last month for the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, Donna Mulhearn was getting off a plane, the memory of six Iraqi cities still clinging to her like dust and ashes. You see, among the din of talking heads and armchair analysts in the mainstream … Continue reading “The Intrepid Donna Mulhearn”

Gitmo Hunger Strike: Bigger Than You Think

The Obama Administration was on the defensive last week as an intensifying hunger strike among the detainees at Guantanamo Bay finally reached international attention. Notably, it’s put into stark relief the fact that nearly half of the prisoners there have been cleared for release, but the White House – which once promised to close the … Continue reading “Gitmo Hunger Strike: Bigger Than You Think”

Trained Killers, from the Americas to Afghanistan

For most Americans the death squads and torture chambers that killed thousands in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua in the 1980’s are difficult to understand and easy to forget because, aside for an apology by President Bill Clinton in 1999 – the United States has never fully acknowledged nor taken responsibility for its role … Continue reading “Trained Killers, from the Americas to Afghanistan”

Ted Cruz & CPAC: What a Pair!

If CPAC is a key barometer of the conservative movement, then let’s face it — all hopes that the right side of the political spectrum is ripe for a re-boot in its approach to defense strategy and foreign policy are sadly misplaced. Sure, there was a millisecond of opportunity when Republican Sen. Rand Paul stood … Continue reading “Ted Cruz & CPAC: What a Pair!”

Nick Turse: Exhuming Vietnam

Conventional wisdom insists that war crimes and atrocities by U.S forces in Vietnam were isolated, committed by a "few bad apples" and "rogue units." In fact, for 40 years the American public has been collectively assuring the veterans of that war that no one considers them "baby killers" nor believes that the My Lai massacre … Continue reading “Nick Turse: Exhuming Vietnam”

Boots on Campus

Have American university campuses become so inured to the militarization of policy, culture – our thought – that they can’t see the Trojan horse sitting in the quad, its occupants pouring out and passing out sweets and credits to all the Ivy Leaguers passing by with goggled eyes and open arms? A caricature for sure, … Continue reading “Boots on Campus”