This Pentagon purchase caught my attention Wednesday night: the Army has awarded Science, Engineering and Technology Associates of Arlington, Va., a $48.2 million contract for “the procurement of the counter-bomber system to provided detection capability of suicide bombers approaching a controlled access site.” The company says “the …
Obama’s Hypocritical, Probably Illegal Libya War Might Succeed
A lot of ink has been spilled (including my own) about whether the president is waging an illegal war in Libya, etc. etc. etc. Obama also got beat up for forging a coalition to attack Libya (Leading from behind!). He got attacked (by me and others) for advocating force in Libya while standing idly by and watching slaughter unfold in …
Limboland – Day 351
Looks like I goofed. Last week I wrote here that I had submitted my claim for VA benefits ten months ago. That’s not quite right. Mea culpa. To correct the record, I submitted my claim over eleven months ago, on July 21, 2010. My claim has languished in the VA’s Baltimore office for 351 days. I promised to keep readers updated on the …
Is the Cyber-Terror Threat Inflated?
So I’m reading the August-September issue of Reason magazine (a well-crafted periodical of libertarian bent) when I came across a fairly compelling piece on the threat, or lack thereof, posed by cyber-terrorism. Unfortunately, Reason’s latest issue isn’t on line, but I found the working paper on which it is based. It’s well worth a …
Naval Maneuvering
So the other day we mentioned the Navy’s woes with its latest boat buy, the 55-vessel, $37.4 billion, Littoral Combat Ship fleet. Two teams are each building their own version of the coastal corvette, and each has its own problem: the Lockheed team’s hull has cracked, and the Austal team’s hull is disintegrating in salt water. Austal …
What Price American Leadership?
Dueling items Thursday morning over the U.S.’s proper place in the world, and how much the nation should be willing to invest in maintaining it.
On Time’s Curious Capitalist blog, veteran Asia hand Michael Schuman wonders:
Why the War Machine Keeps on Running
Villefranche, France.
The United States has always meddled in other people’s affairs. For those readers who think this statement is an exaggeration, I urge them to peruse the chronology of interventions compiled by the Congressional Research Service. This historical predilection for meddling, however, grew enormously in depth and …
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Dead. Again. Perhaps Forever.
A federal appellate court has barred further enforcement of the U.S. military’s still-existing ban on openly gay men and women serving in uniform. Wednesday’s brief, two-page order from the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules it is unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently than their straight compatriots. …
“Look Ma — No Hands!”
Hate to feature two aircraft-carriers photos in the same day — it might go to the Navy’s head — but this second one warrants it. On July 2, an airplane landed on a flattop with no human involvement (except a pilot aboard for safety):
The test, conducted on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), means the Navy is one step closer to
…
President “Consulted” with Military on Limited Condolence Letters
The White House Wednesday formally announced the new policy to send condolence letters to some soldiers who go to war and commit suicide, but not others. The White House says only those soldiers actually deployed when they commit suicide will get condolence letters. That excludes the majority of suicides that are much more likely to …
White House Suicide Condolence Letters for Troops Exclude Most Deaths
A new White House policy to send condolence letters to the family of troops who go to war and commit suicide excludes the vast majority of those soldiers and their families, undercutting President Obama’s stated effort to defray the stigma associated with mental health problems from combat. The loophole has also disappointed veteran …
Bringing the U.S. Sailors Home from Libya
President Obama and his national-security team have said will be no “U.S. boots on the ground” inside Libya. Yet 13 U.S. Navy commandos remain interred on Libyan soil. There’s a growing push to bring them home after more than 200 years on the shores of Tripoli. It’s a strange tale: the 13, led by Navy Master Commandant Richard …