Philip Giraldi

Philip Giraldi, a former CIA officer, is a contributing editor to The American Conservative and executive director of the Council for the National Interest.

Drones and Death Lists: The New Face of Warfare

Watching Senator John McCain foam at the mouth with his calls for war against Syria reminds one that President Barack Obama has done well to resist strident demands from congress and the media to use the U.S. armed forces in a direct role to remove President Bashar al-Assad. Which is not intended to suggest that … Continue reading “Drones and Death Lists: The New Face of Warfare”

Just One Left Behind

Napoleon might once have quipped that armies march on their stomachs, but what ties together a fighting force is the bonds of comradeship and loyalty among the individual soldiers. Elite military units have translated this sense of brotherhood into “leave no man behind, living or dead” a concept that is as old as the ancient … Continue reading “Just One Left Behind”

Failed by the Fourth Estate

In a recent op-ed entitled "Blunders to Remember" David Ignatius of the Washington Post apologized for his shortcomings in "being wrong on the overriding question of whether the [Iraq] war made sense." The op-ed’s recognition of the media frenzy that accompanied the invasion and occupation of Iraq reminded me once again of just how the … Continue reading “Failed by the Fourth Estate”

Obama Beats Bibi on TKO

As a long time commentator on American policy in the Middle East, I have been following with interest the discussion on the recent visit by Barack Obama to Israel, Jordan, and the state-or-non-state of Palestine. Most have observed that the Obama efforts amounted to little more than words completely bereft of possible action, with most … Continue reading “Obama Beats Bibi on TKO”

Sitzkrieg on the Potomac

In 1939 Germany blitzkrieged into Poland and France and Britain declared war. The Germans divided the conquered country with their ally, Stalin’s Soviet Union, and the two belligerents mopped up Polish resistance, a process that subsequently included the slaughter of twenty-two thousand Polish officers and intelligentsia by the Russians at Katyn Forest. France missed the … Continue reading “Sitzkrieg on the Potomac”

Same Old Stuff from AIPAC

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has just completed its annual gala in Washington. A reported thirteen thousand AIPAC supporters reportedly cheered the latest efforts to make Israel America’s most favored nation. A small group of demonstrators was generally ignored though Scott McConnell reports that some protesters were spat upon by those filing in … Continue reading “Same Old Stuff from AIPAC”

Talking Turkey About Zionism

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in trouble again with Washington and Tel Aviv because he dared to equate Zionism with fascism and anti-Semitism as an ideology or political movement that has brought oppression. Erdogan was speaking at a United Nations sponsored Alliance of Civilizations conference in Vienna dealing with instilling tolerance. He spoke … Continue reading “Talking Turkey About Zionism”

Rand Don’t Need No Education

A lot of otherwise smart people are twisting themselves into pretzels explaining why Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is taking the foreign and defense policy positions that he has. Paul’s latest gambit was to join in the looney tunes voices on the Likud fringe of the GOP in demanding more debate on the Chuck Hagel … Continue reading “Rand Don’t Need No Education”

Towards a Christian Zionist Foreign Policy

Countries frequently define themselves by what they believe to be true. When reality and belief conflict that definition might well be referred to as a "national myth." In the United States many believe that there exists a constitutionally mandated strict separation between religion and government. In practice, however, that separation has never really existed except … Continue reading “Towards a Christian Zionist Foreign Policy”