We’ve spent a day noting the formal end to our nine-year distraction in Iraq. Now let’s return to our first post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, where this active-duty Army colonel doesn’t pull many punches. Paul Yingling writes …
Politics
Iraq: Assessing Worth
“We’ve paid a great price here,” Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said as the U.S. wrapped up its mission in Iraq on Thursday. “And it has been a price worth paying.”
This led to a piquant …
Why Is the U.S. So Good at Nation-Breaking And So Poor at Nation-Building?
As the colors are cased in Baghdad on Thursday, and U.S. military says its goodbyes, Iraq remains a nation with large, gaping wounds nearly a decade after the U.S. invaded. While the U.S. military remains the world’s best at …
Political Squabbling Over Iraq: Can’t We Shut Up, Just for a Bit?
So President Obama visited Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday and thanked the troops there for a job well done as the nation wraps up its military presence in Iraq:
Tomorrow the colors of United States Forces-Iraq, the
…
Michèle Flournoy Departs
If Michèle Flournoy were a man, no one outside of nerdy defense circles would have noted her announcement Monday that she will be leaving the Pentagon’s No. 3 post – the under secretary of defense for policy – come …
Is Leon Panetta the Right Man to be Secretary of Defense?
For several months, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has been using extreme rhetoric to characterize cuts in the Pentagon budget beyond the $450 billion reduction over ten years he has already accepted. With the failure of the …
“By nature it is an all-consuming job and it does take a toll on the family.”
Why Is Rumsfeld Peddling Nuts?
We circle the globe trying to keep our readers informed on meaty trends in national-security circles. But time for a between-meal snack! It seems former defense secretary Don Rumsfeld has become the cover boy for a spicy nibble …
Super Committee Failure Hits Military Hard
Politicians can shrug off the congressional Super Committee’s failure to agree on meaningful deficit reduction. To them, it’s just another budget gimmick that didn’t pan out. But for the U.S. military, the Super Committee …
The Return of the Keening Violins
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F36Q6loCdEQ]
The Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee have rolled out another video predicting doom for the nation if defense spending is cut back to 2007 levels (check out the prequel). And, under the sequestration provisions contained in the super-committee legislation, the cuts …
Gingrich on Defense Cuts: Calling His Bluffton
GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, speaking Tuesday in Bluffton, S.C., called the impending budget cuts to be levied on the Pentagon under sequestration – paring back military spending to 2007 levels — “destructive” and “very dangerous to the survival of the country.”
The rhetoric on this topic bedevils chances …
Unfun Fact: After a Decade of War, The Word `Veteran’…
….was not said once in Wednesday night’s nearly two-hour long Republican debate on national security matters.
Wednesday Night’s GOP National-Security Debate (Cliffs Notes Version)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQAhzU9Y4Xg]
Wednesday night’s CNN Republican debate with its eight contenders and sound-bite responses was akin to a World Wrestling Entertainment bout. Bottom line: President Obama is a failure and President Reagan was tops.
Yet you can glean a fair amount about the candidates via some of …