David Ignatius, the hard-core foreign-affairs columnist for the Washington Post, doesn’t think much of Thursday’s announcement that the Obama Administration has approved sending armed Predator drones to attack targets in Libya.
His bottom line:
My quick reaction, as a journalist who has chronicled the growing use of drones, is that
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Scored a hat trick today on Battleland: had a left-leaner (Gordon Adams, Pentagon czar at OMB during Clinton I) commenting on Mackenzie Eaglen‘s post (she’s from the rightward Heritage Foundation, and before that with quasi-GOPer Susan Collins, senator of Maine), topped off by Nick Schwellenbach, defense pro at the stridently …
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that armed U.S. Predator drones have begun flying missions over Libya. It’s a small bump in U.S. military capability in hopes of blunting the expanding political problem caused by Muammar Gaddafi’s continued attacks on civilians despite a U.N. resolution calling for their protection. The …
Moving at the speed of sludge, the CIA this week declared it has finally declassified its oldest still-secret documents it has: spy documents from World War I. One outlines the chemicals and techniques necessary for developing certain types of secret writing ink and a method for opening sealed letters without detection. Another …
Usually when Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, talks, it’s reported as “commenting” or “remarks.” But Wednesday he let the Pakistani military and its Inter-Services Intelligence unit know that their cozy relationship with the Haqqani terrorist network threatens relations between the two countries. The local …
Ashton Carter is the U.S.military’s chief weapons buyer. Judging from what he said yesterday at The Heritage Foundation about saving money in the defense budget, his job is about to get much more complicated if the Obama Administration gets its way by trying to reduce the federal budget deficit on the backs of those in …
“Anyone who approved or participated in the torture of my client should be prepared to take the witness stand.” That’s what Navy Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Reyes told the Washington Post about the upcoming military trial of his client, Abd al-Rahim Al-Nashiri. Nashiri faces a possible death sentence for his alleged role in the October 2000 …
Time colleague Bobby Ghosh recalls his friend, Chris Hondros, on our Global Spin blog. Chris was killed Wednesday in Misrata, Libya, along with Tim Hetherington. Brave war reporters like Bobby are nothing compared to the guys who go in to make the pictures of conflict around the world that we rely on to try to come to grips with such …
For the first time in history, a Russian submarine will be engaging in war games with NATO subs next month. “Apart from honing their skills, the naval rescuers on the games will certainly contribute to mutual confidence between the sides,” Russian analyst Vladimir Yevseyev tells The Voice of Russia news service. “This, in turn, …
Time photo editor Paul Moakley reflects on the death Wednesday of Restrepo director Tim Hetherington in Misrata, Libya.
Four of every five young U.S. military officers who hang up their uniforms say the best officers are bailing from the military’s ranks. And it isn’t about the money, according to a new study. The report, by two graduate students at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, asked 250 young officers to list their reasons for …
The New York Times is reporting Thursday morning that the Libyan war – launched by Americans with their fingers crossed – will likely have “no quick and easy end.” It’s hard to recall those days in early March when the rebels were on the move and U.S.-led air attacks, later joined by NATO, were viewed as little more than a armed …
The Army created its Accessions Command in 2002. On Wednesday, with encouragement from the Pentagon, it killed it. The U.S. Army Accessions Command was 9. The Army says it will shut down the command, based at Fort Monroe, Va., over the next 18 months. That will lead to the elimination of two general’s slots, 65 other military …
