Battleland

$28,644,355

— The value of a contract, here, awarded this week by the Pentagon to keep Iraqi air force trainers flying in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Not sure what Saddam's kin thinks of T-6 airplanes buzzing the old homestead, but we like to think they appreciate its nickname -- Texan -- just as much as former president (and ex-Texas governor) George W. Bush, who launched the 2003 invasion.
The Defense Intelligence Agency did a study that was finished last month. Now, while the contents of the study are classified, the conclusions and certain statements are not classified. And quoting from the unclassified portion, which I believe has not yet been made public, they say, quote, `DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles. However, the reliability will be low.'
— Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday.

Napalm: A True American Tale

Napalm is one of those American inventions that you wish weren’t, sort of like Agent Orange, killer drones, or nuclear weapons. Sure, their invention might have had to happen eventually, but why should the U.S. have to shoulder …

Assessing Tribal Islam

Bina Shah has written an excellent review of Akbar Ahmed’s important new book, The Thistle and the Drone: How America’s War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam (Brookings, March 2013). I urge you to read it

The Jihadist Campaign for Hearts and Minds

RAQQA, Syria — The dusty, battered navy blue Subaru sedan with a blown-out rear window rolled up to the street corner in Raqqa City.

The bespectacled Jabhat al-Nusra fighter behind the wheel was five minutes early for our 9 …

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