So the still-unnamed U.S. Army perpetrator of the Sunday slaughter in Afghanistan apparently suffered a traumatic brain injury two years ago. Could this have triggered what by all accounts was an irrational act? You better …
Military
Bravo Zulu, Big E: Final Sail Ends 50 Years’ Service
The USS Enterprise left Norfolk Sunday on its 22nd – and final – deployment. The Navy’s first nuclear-powered flattop has been cruising the world’s oceans since her commissioning in 1961, playing a role in major U.S. …
What We Need to Learn From The Afghan Massacre
Our nation is struggling to understand the horrific act of violence by one U.S. soldier last Sunday that left 16 Afghan civilians dead – many of whom were children.
Though apparently planned, this was an irrational act—one …
Post-Massacre: Whither Afghanistan?
After decades of writing stories dubbed “whither NATO?” – what’s going to happen to the alliance following the collapse of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies? – reporters were amazed as NATO continued to push …
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War’s Strange Bedfellows
The Pentagon is buying helicopters for its Afghan allies from the same Russian-based company that’s also selling weapons to Syria that Damascus is using against its own people.
Rosoboronexport, Moscow’s official arms …
“If Afghanistan dissolves into a situation where the Taliban were able to take over a chaotic situation, it could easily return to an al Qaeda base for attacks on the United States of America.”
Key Point: Bunker-Busters Come In Both Small and Large Sizes
The reports from Israel that it is seeking 5,000-pound GBU-28 bunker-busters for possible use against Iran makes for exciting reading. One problem: they can’t even dent Iran’s most protected sites. The reports suggest war is …
Not So Syria-ess?
Amid all the reporting on the horrors happening inside Syria, former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst John McCreary has been taking a contrary view on his NightWatch blog. His analysis shows, he believes, that the violence is isolated and that a lack of any apparent threat in Damascus, the capital, means Syrian leader Bashar …
Books Report: War Memoirs From the Bush Administration
Once government officials leave the stage, they often write memoirs in hopes of shaping how history will remember their tenure. Over at Small Wars Journal, Caleb S. Cage, a veteran of the Iraq war, helpfully reviews the recent books by George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld.
The 2002 West Point graduate …
“Ally, May I?”
Nothing raises lawmakers’ hackles like Pentagon officials saying they need international support before going to war, as Chris Lawrence explains over at CNN’s Security Clearance blog.
Their gripes would have more grip if they stepped up to the plate and declared war when the nation sends its troops into harm’s way, instead of …
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 …
“Stuff” Civilians Say to Veterans
Sometimes you get the impression Berlitz or Rosetta Stone should offer U.S. civilians classes on how to speak to folks who have served in the military. Just another sign of the growing gap between U.S. society and those defending it that Battleland wrote about last Veterans Day.