“The United States and other international security and development partners would risk snatching defeat from the jaws of something that could still resemble victory if, due to frustration with President Hamid Karzai or domestic budgetary pressures, they were to accelerate disengagement between now and 2014 and under-resource their commitment to Afghanistan after 2014.”
Japan Looks to Add Offensive Firepower
TOKYO — North Korea seems to have put its missiles away for now, but Japan’s conservative government wants the option to blast them away the next time they’re pointed in Tokyo’s direction. It’s a satisfying idea, but maybe …
The Nine O’Clock Follies
Every morning in Washington, along with Battleland’s second cup of coffee, an email arrives in our inbox highlighting the important work that took place on the ground in Afghanistan earlier that day.
Unlike the sad …
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The Dirtiest Low-Down Campaign In America: Cuccinelli vs. McAuliffe
The campaigns of Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe both claim to be focused on positive messages about growing the economy and creating jobs in the Old Dominion. But nobody believes them.
The New Era of Good F-35 Feelings
Part 1 of 5
There has been a lot of good news for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter recently. No longer are top Department of Defense officials covering their bets by casting aspersions at it; they are rallying to its defense, …
How to Fix the Post Office: Keep the ‘Last Mile,’ Outsource the Rest
A proposal to create a “hybrid” United States Postal Service would keep postal workers on their routes while allowing private companies to compete for mail collection, transportation, and processing.
Florida Hospital Takes a Step Toward Price Transparency
The cost of various health care services is based on a mysterious and confusing set of formulas that leave consumers in the dark.
The Rise (and Fall) of the VA Backlog
Officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs likely won’t acknowledge it publicly until later this year, but those responsible for processing disability claims believe the infamous “backlog” peaked more than two months …
How Much Does an F-35 Fighter Really Cost?
There’s been a rash of recent reports that the U.S. military has wrestled the F-35’s cost growth to the mat. They come from some heavy hitters: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Air Force Lieut. General Christopher Bogdan, the …
A Single Bound
Staff Sgt. Ray Perez-Rosa clears a canal while on a foot patrol to counteract indirect fire near Combat Outpost Baraki Barak, May 21.
Imposing Justice Outside the Chain of Command Looking Pretty Good at the Naval Academy
Now three members of the U.S. Naval Academy’s football team find themselves the subject of an investigation into charges they raped a fellow midshipman a year ago at a house the football team apparently rented illicitly …
War Stories: Psychiatrists on the Front Lines
Two of the most powerful workshops at the recent American Psychiatric Association annual meeting were the panels of psychiatrists talking about their personal experiences in war zones.
They were part of the Military Track, a …