Eid ‘Sensations’

KABUL — On Oct. 24, two days before Eid, an opinion piece published in the elite U.S. journal Foreign Policy extolled the fact that U.S. forces are winning in Afghanistan, adding, “Why hsn’t the media noticed?” In the article, the author suggests that Taliban forces...

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Ignoring American Decline

Failure and unintended consequences: these are often hallmarks of U.S. military interventions. Who could have imagined, for instance, that forcing open the Kingdom of Japan at the point of U.S. Navy guns would eventually lead to bombs falling on ships from that same...

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Survival and Dignity in an Afghan Winter

“Mirwais, son of Hayatullah Haideri. He was 1½ years old and had just started to learn how to walk, holding unsteadily to the poles of the family tent before flopping onto the frozen razorbacks of the muddy floor. “Abdul Hadi, son of Abdul Ghani. He was not even a...

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Sumptuous Counterterrorism Spending Must End

More than 11 years after the 9/11 attacks, the American public is still barraged with sensational media coverage of the occasional uncovering of a terrorist plot. Many of these are so-called sting operations, which, rather than saving America from significant...

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The Fall Guy

The setup and railroading of Mansoor Arbabsiar, a mentally ill Iranian emigrant, in the alleged “terror plot” to kill the Saudi ambassador was completed last week when he entered a guilty plea. The 57-year-old Iranian-American, a naturalized citizen, was charged with...

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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...

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