A Speech for Endless War
Wednesday: 10 Iraqis Killed, 22 Wounded
Today begins Operation New Dawn, the new U.S. mission In Iraq. Despite the end of “combat operations,” at least 10 Iraqis were killed and 22 more were wounded in the latest round of violence. Coincidentally, U.S. officials reported Iraq is planning to spend $13 billion on U.S. arms and military equipment.
read moreAssessing the Iraq War
As President Obama gave a self-congratulatory speech about keeping his campaign promise to remove U.S. combat forces from Iraq by the end of August, he accomplished this feat by merely redefining the mission of the 50,000 combat-trained U.S. forces remaining there to...
Acts of Contrition
I hate it when I'm right, mostly because my predictions are invariably dark. We're lost, doomed, the end is near. It's always something. And while it may be in bad taste to say “I told you so,” I did indeed tell you so back in March of 2003, when the...
What Obama Should Have Said About Afghanistan
My Fellow Americans, … so much for Iraq. Turning now to Afghanistan, let me be clear. My learning curve has been steep, as the New York Times noted last weekend. The curve has also been jagged as I have tried to assimilate the not-always-consistent advice the...
Tuesday: 1 US Soldier, 4 Iraqis Killed; 7 Iraqis Wounded
As the United States marks the change in mission for Iraq, one American soldier was killed in sniper fire in Tikrit. At least four Iraqis were killed and five more were wounded in unusually light violence that could be the result of a media blackout.
read moreWhy Muqtada Haunts the White House
The Limits of Force as an Instrument of Foreign Policy
Despite their vast military and technological power, the United States and many of its allies have been bogged down for nearly 10 years in Afghanistan and Iraq. This failure of the U.S. and its allies to achieve their goals in these two countries raises the question...
The Dog Ate My Exit Timeline
Those poor Iraqi kids. Who's going to keep them supplied with new soccer balls after we leave? Will the poor things have to go back to eating Iraqi food after all the Hershey bars run out? (Cue Sally Struthers). And what will happen to all those adorable puppies...
