National Security
CIA Largely in the Dark on Interrogation Tactics
CIA turned to countries known for their use of torture including Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to develop program.
The Return of the Neocons
Top Bush officials see this fight for historical dominance as the last battle of the war in Iraq.
Torture and the Law
Bush told ABC news he knew administration officials met to discuss the use of torture against detainees. Could a prosecutor charge him with a crime?
Batman's 'Dark Knight' Reflects Cheney Policy
REEL LIFE
Fast and Loose With the Facts
Bush and Cheney will probably leave office with a sad legacy, while two prominent reporters who backed the war have seen their careers flourish.
Using Law to Justify Torture
The Bush White House might be on shaky ground in relying on memos written by administration lawyers to justify "enhanced interrogation" policies.
Clinton Devised Both Pro-war and Anti-war Candidacy
Ten minutes in Hollywood on Thursday could prove to be Clinton's Waterloo -- if not now, then perhaps in November.
The Colonels and 'The Matrix'
A group of young thinkers has triggered a simmering debate about how far the military should go in embracing counterinsurgency.
Biden Punks Crocker: 'I Would Therefore Pick Al Qaeda on The Afghanistan-Pakistan Border'
There was once a blog called Joe Biden Is Thugged Out. (I swear this is true.) Biden just proved why.
Are Contractors Above the Law?
Contractors operating abroad claim they are immune from lawsuits because they work for the U.S. military.
Waxman: White House Knew Of Hunt/Kurdistan Oil Contract
Today the House oversight committee released a reportasserting that the White House knew about an oil deal between the Kurdistan regional government and Texas-based Hunt Oil, though President George W. Bush had claimed he knew nothing about the contract before it was announced. According to the report, Ray Hunt, President of the company, talked to Bush administration advisers months before the deal was made. Also, officials at the Commerce and State departments encouraged the deal and even congratulated Hunt after obtaining the contract.
The deal embarrassed the Bush administration and outraged the Iraqi government when it was announced in September. Bush criticized both parties for making a deal that bypassed the Iraqi national government, especially impolitic as a national oil law was still not established.
Reframing the Israel Debate
The new Jewish group argues that an independent Palestine is in the United States' best interest.
When War Seems Unwinnable: Why Tet Matters
By the close of 1967, a half-million U.S. troops were in Vietnam, and Americans at home, viewing the war on television in their living rooms, had become inured to familiar images. Sweating in the fierce tropical heat and humidity, platoons of “grunts” were disgorged from hovering helicopters and cut through thick jungles or crossed flooded rice fields to faraway villages, occasionally stumbling onto mines or booby traps, or drawing fire from concealed snipers.
It's Not Like We're In Two Resource-Intensive Ground Wars Where Economy of Force is Crucial or Anything
Iraq. Afghanistan. And then, the Navy. From the Pentagon public affairs shop today:
Torture Memo Shields Interrogators
Government memo says even interrogation tactics that lead to brutal results are OK if carried out in "good faith."
Maliki, Sadr, and the Wages of Sin
Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is giving powerful Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's forces three days to surrender in Basra, as clashes between Maliki's security forces and Sadr's Mahdi Army -- in which the U.S. intervenes on Maliki's side -- escalate. But with the U.S. happy about the now-abrogated Sadrist ceasefire, why is the U.S. military getting involved? The Washington Post isn't sure:
It was unclear why U.S. forces would take part in a broad armed challenge to Sadr and his thousands-strong militia on the eve of Petraeus's assessment, which the Bush administration has said would greatly influence its decision on whether to draw down troop levels.
Here's an answer. As long as Maliki is in the prime minister's chair, and as long as we proclaim the Iraqi government he leads to be legitimate, Maliki effectively holds us hostage. "I need to go after Sadr," Maliki says. "The situation is unacceptable! In Basra, he threatens to take control of the ports, and in Baghdad, he's throwing my men out of their checkpoints. Would you allow the Bloods or the Crips to take over half of Los Angeles?" And as soon as he says that, we're trapped. It simply is not tenable for Petraeus to refuse a request for security assistance from the Prime Minister to deal with a radical militia.
Military Leaders Make Weak Advisers
Critics of Iraq war withdrawal say such moves should be vetted first by Gen. David Petraeus, though history offers different insight.
'Like A Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone'
I just got off a conference call with Col. Jon Lehr, who commands one of the surge brigades in Iraq. Lehr’s brigade, the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division, has operated in Baghdad and Diyala province for the last 14 months and is on the cusp of finally returning home to Ft. Lewis, Washington. To say I was impressed with Lehr is an understatement: he made some really insightful and candid points about the complexity of the war.
In Solidarity With Jim Risen
The Justice Department is going after New York Times reporter Jim Risen for the non-crime of revealing President Bush's illegal domestic surveillance program. It's pathetic and unsurprising -- a fixture of Bush Justice -- that the activity DOJ pursues isn't the blatant illegality of Bush violating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but instead the fact that government sources blew the whistle to a great investigative reporter.
The right response from the press, and the public, is to put one arm around Risen and, with the other arm, extend a single finger in the direction of the Justice Department.
A Counterinsurgency Guide for Politicos
A forthcoming handbook, written by a former top aide to Gen. David H. Petraeus, aims to help Washington decision makers avoid intervening in the costly, un-winnable counterinsurgency efforts of foreign nations.
