Kelley B. Vlahos

Hamid Karzai, he of the signature Karakul hat and brightly colored robes, we hardly knew ye. Karzai, upon whom the Queen of England once bestowed an honorary knighthood, we barely recognize you. Karzai, for whom we have overlooked the drugs, the money laundering, the election fraud, the jailing of your own women – where did … Continue reading “Hamid Karzai: No Ordinary Puppet”

Looking around at the standing room only crowd at the Global Drone Summit on Saturday, one wondered if all of these people knew exactly what they’re up against. The multi-billion dollar drone industry fueled, in part, by American contracting goliaths like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Atomics, continues to advance domestic drone sales … Continue reading “Slinging Stones at the Drone Goliath”

Edward Hasbrouck has spent the last 20 years or more helping people travel – travel safely, smartly, and cheaply. His book, The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World, is now in its fifth edition. To write it, he traveled 80,000 miles and visited 28 countries on six continents. While photos of Hasbrouck on … Continue reading “Ed Hasbrouck versus the TSA”

It was merely coincidence that on the same week that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki came to Washington to plead for more intelligence and military aid for his imploding nation that former Gen. David Petraeus published a 7,600-word online essay on "How We Won in Iraq." Or was it? Petraeus, who left the CIA in … Continue reading “Petraeus Races Against the History Clock”

There was a definite "BS" and "AS" order to things at the major Stop Watching Us rally against government surveillance in Washington, DC, on Saturday. That’s Before Snowden and After Snowden, and though it doesn’t matter really which is which, it helps when charting the evolution of a protest movement, especially one that seems to … Continue reading “Taking Big Brother to Task”

Last week, about 90 mourners gathered to lay to rest the woman who was shot and killed by Washington police as she sat in her car, her one-year-old child, by a miracle one would say, found unharmed in the back seat. There were no television cameras, no celebrities in gratuitous displays of grief or solidarity. … Continue reading “Ode to Miriam Carey, Post-9/11 Harbinger”

Almost five years ago, President Bush sat grasping the hand of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, flashbulbs from an army of photographers illuminating their smiling, faintly strained faces. As we know now, the agreement they had just signed and were shaking upon turned out to be a very public parting of ways. For Washington, … Continue reading “Washington’s Silence on Iraq”

Quite frankly, I didn’t even want to use you guys, with your dip and velcro and all your gear bullshit. I wanted to drop a bomb. But people didn’t believe in this lead enough to drop a bomb. So they’re using you guys as canaries. And, in theory, if bin Laden isn’t there, you can … Continue reading “9/11 Justice Never Tasted So Bitter”

People say the dopiest things after a terrorist attack. The horrific shooting and hostage taking at the Westgate Mall in Kenya is just one case in point. According to Fox News, Rep. Mike Rogers, Republican from Michigan and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was apparently leading a chorus of "top Republicans" last week who … Continue reading “Kenya Attacks Tickle Rightwing Agendas”

When the television alerts began to signal that one shooter – and then possibly more – had attacked the Navy Yard in Washington DC last week, it was pretty natural that anyone’s first thought went to "terrorism." Hadn’t we been conditioned for these very moments, waiting for the other shoe to drop after the 9/11 … Continue reading “The ‘Terror’ of Mental Illness”