McChrystal’s Conundrum
Is the Afghan war already lost? Well, not quite, says the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, but almost: "Failure to gain the initiative and reverse insurgent momentum in the near-term (next 12 months) – while Afghan security capacity matures – risks an outcome...
Irving Kristol, RIP
To my knowledge, the late Irving Kristol was the only self-admitted neoconservative in existence. With his death, at the age of 89, does this mean the species is extinct? Far from it. In spite of the odd tendency of neoconservatives to deny their ideological heritage,...
The Worms in the Apple
Evil Speaks – Are We Listening?
The latest message from Osama bin Laden – an audio recording posted on jihadist Web sites – is truly scary. Not because he threatens us with death and destruction, though he does. Not because he vows that the 9/11 attacks were just the beginning, though this is...
What Price Afghanistan?
Has the U.S. lost the Afghan war, even before President Obama's "surge" is plugged in and the "COIN" strategy is put in place? "Clear, hold, and build": – that's the "new" counterinsurgency doctrine [.pdf] being touted by the...
9/11: Our Truth, and Theirs
When Satire Becomes Reality
Google News has lately taken to labeling Antiwar.com's news articles, including this column, as "satire." To take one particularly unfortunate example, an article by Fred Reed on the furor over the photo of Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard's tragic death in...
The ‘Good’ War
The Ghost of 9/11
The idea that the U.S. must fight in Afghanistan is buttressed by an all-too-familiar theme, whether it be uttered on the Left (Obama) or the neocon Right (Bill Kristol): the former says we must fight to prevent al-Qaeda from reestablishing "safe havens" so...
