(Cross posted at @TAC) I know it is a tired trope, but it's helpful to look at the ultimate success of Counterinsurgency, or the vaunted COIN doctrine dominating the popular ethos of the American military establishment, as a three-legged stool. As it is conceived, or...
How Many Needles Can Obama Thread?
To answer Jim Bovard's earlier question -- will President Obama "out-BS" Bush? -- I think no, after watching Obama tonight, it seems that Bush set a perverse standard that even an over-achiever like Obama can't exceed. But that didn't seem to be Obama's goal tonight....
Bagram to Get McChrystalized?
Satirist and entertainer Harry Shearer makes a good point today on HuffingtonPost.com: When the Fox network staged a special Veterans' Day version of its NFL pregame show at Bagram AF Base last Sunday, two hours was apparently not long enough to mention one...
Congress Moves Big to Protect Toxified Soldiers
As Veterans Day approaches, a gift of some good news. Thanks to a lot of lobbying by members of congress and vet organizations, and backed up by great reporting by the Army Times and by hundreds of personal testimonies and affidavits by individual soldiers and...
Blood Flowing in Post-Surge Baghdad
Two major bomb blasts ripped through Baghdad Sunday, killing an estimated 130 147 men, women and children and wounded some 520 721, according to reports. Twin car bombs targeted two government buildings in downtown Baghdad Sunday, wrecking pillars of the state's...
President Peace’s Predators
Seems like President Barack Obama -- Nobel Peace Laureate Obama -- has taken his predecessor's predator drone program and jacked it up with steroids. The New Yorker's Jane Mayer reports this week that the number of Obama-authorized strikes in Pakistan equals the sum...
Secret Italian Bribes to Taliban — Tip of the Iceberg?
When I was researching my recent piece on Taliban extortion rackets in Afghanistan, it was easy to find examples of the Taliban extorting private contractors hired by western governments and companies engaged in humanitarian and reconstruction projects. What was...
Today ACORN, Tomorrow … Lockheed Martin? Northrop Grumman?
Not much can top a federally-funded ACORN associate telling a (supposed) prostitute how she can launder her income -- on camera. Except for maybe this: or this: Those are guards from the federally-funded ArmorGroup, which has a $184 million contract to protect our...
Military to share classified intel with state and local fusion centers
Correct me if I am wrong, but this must spell an unprecedented level of domestic intelligence sharing. One wonders, is the sharing between the DoD and fusion centers -- which incorporate local, state and federal law enforcement and homeland security agencies -- both...
Shocked, Shocked! The Pentagon Is Profiling Journalists!
Published originally @TAC I am glad that Stars and Stripes has nailed the story about the Pentagon profiling journos headed overseas for embed duty, not only because it is only fair that we know how our taxpayer dollars are being spent in so-called military "strategic...
