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.

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”

Manning vs. the Marines

As far as villains go, Pfc. Bradley Manning is hardly quintessential. At 5 foot 2 inches tall, his slender frame and bespectacled image has invoked snickers, sarcasm and according to reporting over the last two years, a lifetime of bullying. That bullying reached an apparent apex during his time in the Army. Not only was … Continue reading “Manning vs. the Marines”

Homeland’s Crazy, Sexy, Muslim-Baiting Appeal

Never underestimate the power of a fantabulous writing team. That’s just what I did when I suggested, however gently, that the new shows Person of Interest (CBS) and Homeland (Showtime) might tank for all of their overdone, paranoid schlock. This is what I wrote last year around this time: Let’s hope the reviewers are wrong … Continue reading “Homeland’s Crazy, Sexy, Muslim-Baiting Appeal”

Fall of the House of Petraeus?

It was in the middle of a breaking news story and MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell sounded like she was going to cry. It had to do with CIA Director David Petraeus. She was ticking off his accomplishments one by one, the words “personal tragedy” ringing forebodingly like church bells over the satellite radio airwaves. For the … Continue reading “Fall of the House of Petraeus?”

Dateline: Election Day 2012

For the better part of two years the campaign saga has pounded the surf of our daily lives like a relentless black tide. Now, in a matter of hours, polling places at last will close, with either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney emerging victorious at the other end, the flotsam and jetsam of the … Continue reading “Dateline: Election Day 2012”

Obsessed With the Undead

On Halloween, an army of the undead will be unleashed upon Mission Bay off the coast of San Diego. U.S. soldiers, Marines, special forces, police and emergency responders will face the challenge of a lifetime as the flesh-eating scourge threatens to devour their ranks — literally. Of course it’s not real. This is a five-day … Continue reading “Obsessed With the Undead”

Romney’s ‘Me Too’ Foreign Policy Debate

The much awaited foreign policy debate Monday night probably did nothing to create a clear contrast between President Barack Obama and his challenger Mitt Romney. It did, however, confirm that neither candidate offers much of a foreign policy vision moving into the November election. Furthermore, it proved that Romney’s “Grand Strategy” is nothing more than … Continue reading “Romney’s ‘Me Too’ Foreign Policy Debate”

Next Stop Mali?

Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, head of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), stood at a podium in Algeria and addressed the deteriorating security conditions in the neighboring country of Mali. (For those geographically-challenged, remember when you were a kid and people used to say, “that’s way out in Timbuktu”? Well, this is that place, literally). … Continue reading “Next Stop Mali?”

Romney’s Pretty Little War Speech

Romney is fond of invoking Ronald Reagan and Harry Truman — and now George Marshall — as though their 20th century foreign policy legacies could lend his own cobbled-together worldview some indomitable burnish. But he seems loath to even utter the name of the American President his views are most like — George W. Bush. … Continue reading “Romney’s Pretty Little War Speech”

My Iranian Learning Curve

WASHINGTON — There are learning curves and then there are learning curves, and there seems to be no greater disadvantage than the one the American media is suffering from when it comes to Iran. Me included. Fancy that. Engaging Iran, with which we have had this powerfully emotional and ultimately dysfunctional relationship going back decades, … Continue reading “My Iranian Learning Curve”