The Army, it would appear, and, perhaps the nation, has learned nothing from its unhappy experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. This morning’s New York Times reports that Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno is setting off to restructure large pieces of his ground force to do in other regions, especially Africa, what they have done …
Foreign Policy
U.S. and Japanese Troops Draw Closer
The prospect of U.S. and Japanese troops fighting side by side in the next land war in Asia — and heaven forbid the need for either — comes a step closer with a little-noted provision in U.S. realignment plans announced last …
South Korean Seasickness
Seoul has lost its bid to have the world’s mapmakers allow the Sea of Japan, the body of water between Japan and the Korean peninsula, also to be known as the East Sea. Japan is pleased, according to Stars and Stripes.
The International Hydrographic Organization met this week in Monaco and elected to keep Sea of Japan as the only …
A Risky Game Over Japan’s Disputed Islands
TOKYO – Whether it’s a genuine attempt to steer Japan’s foreign policy or a clever ploy to annoy political leaders in both Japan and China, Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara’s plan to buy three disputed islands in the East …
Betting on the Come
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta declared Wednesday that “our strategy is right, our strategy is working, and if we stick to it, we can achieve the mission of establishing an Afghanistan that can secure and govern itself, and …
Beautifying the Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden, some say, was located somewhere inside modern-day Iraq. So it’s no surprise that the U.S. is trying to improve on God’s work, seeking “gardening services” at the U.S. Consulate in Erbil.
The overview of the contract solicitation, posted Monday, notes:
Maintenance and appearance of the grass, shrubbery,
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“We have agreed with Iran to launch a new round of talks in Istanbul on 14 April. We are very pleased that these talks, which will address the international community´s concerns on the Iranian nuclear programme, are going ahead after more than one year since we last met.”
Storm Clouds Gathering Over There…and Back Home
The disasters over the last three months — including American troops urinating on Afghan corpses, burning Qurans, and the massacre of Afghan civilians, including women and children, by at least one American soldier — have …
A New Approach to the War on Terror?
How come after the successes in the war on terror since 9/11, it seems likes we’re still fighting the war on terror? There seems to be a bit of Lewis Carroll unfolding here:
The faster I go, the behinder I get.
Are the world’s militaries trying to fight a new enemy with old weapons? 1st Lieutenant Rogerio Paiva Cietto, a legal …
1%
“Where in the world can the same person be the prime minister, the chief of staff of the armed forces, the minister of defense, the minister of interior, the chief of intelligence and the head of the national security council?”
War Talk Is Cheap
Two of the most virulently anti-U.S. regimes in the world – Iran and Syria – are painting bulls-eyes on their backs by their deeds. But the Obama Administration is seeking non-military solutions in both cases. It’s driving …
Afghanistan: First Tragedy, Now Farce
If you follow the commentariat on Afghanistan, you can sense a growing sense of pessimism. Some handle it more deftly than others:
The most insidious objection to realism in the AfPak region comes from those ready to label it a “cut-and-run” strategy. This is the kind of logic that leads some folks to sleep with an unattractive
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