Debate Rages over US Withdrawal from Afghanistan
With only three weeks left before U.S. military forces are scheduled to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, the debate over the size and pace of that withdrawal has become increasingly intense. On one hand, the Pentagon, backed by prominent neoconservatives and other...
Threat of Attack on Iran Recedes, but Tensions Remain High
The likelihood of a U.S. or Israeli military attack on Iran's nuclear installations seems miniscule during the remaining months of the Barack Obama administration's first term. The U.S. is focused on domestic economic problems, winding down wars in Iraq, Afghanistan...
If Libya Is a Success, What Would Be a Failure?
You must surely fear for the reputation of your species when you hear the deaths of some 10,000 people referred to as "successful." Until this week, I used to regard an away win at Celtic Park as "successful." I would casually refer to a drive from...
Bigger than Blackwater: Arming the UAE
The International Defense Exhibition, otherwise known as IDEX, has been held bi-annually in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 1993. It is the largest defense expo in the Middle East and North Africa and one of the biggest in the world. But far from being a one-off,...
Egypt Takes Sweet Time Opening Promised Rafah Crossing
RAFAH - Many hoping to find free movement between Egypt and Gaza have found the border gates at the Rafah crossing closed. Egyptian officials closed the gates on Saturday, according to Palestinian officials. Ayyoub Abu Shaar, the official who usually communicates with...
Wednesday: 1 US Soldier, 7 Iraqis Killed; 16 Iraqis Wounded
At least seven Iraqis were killed and 16 more were wounded in violence today. Also, a U.S. soldier was killed in southern Iraq. Officials did not give details, but the death may have occurred during a bombing near Najaf. Four activists who were released on bail...
Accelerate Withdrawals From Afghanistan and Iraq
The jockeying for position on troop withdrawals from Afghanistan and Iraq continues. Recently, departing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the U.S. military have tried to box the Obama administration into leaving as many troops in Afghanistan as possible. Gates...
How Not to Withdraw From Iraq
Iraq? Where’s that? Most Americans no longer seem to know and evidently could care less, but don’t tell that to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, various key military figures and Washington officials, or some of the neocons, warrior-pundits, and liberal war-fighters...
Ron Paul vs. the GOP Establishment
As libertarianism becomes more visible, politically, and gains ground in the GOP, the enemies of freedom are poised – on both the right and the left – for the attack. Libertarians have never had to deal with this problem before, in the main because their...
