Can Afghanistan Be Won?

According to the Britain's highest military commander in Afghanistan, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, "We're not going to win this war." This is in stark contrast to the political rhetoric of our two presidential candidates, who are both calling for more...

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The American Empire, RIP

Part of the psychology of the Greenspan Bubble – a policy of bank credit expansion that distorted market signals and led to the over-valuation of certain assets, such as real estate – has been the vaunted overestimation of America's staying power as a global...

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Afghanistan: The Surge That Failed

In a 1998 interview with Le Nouvel Observateur, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, spoke proudly of how, in July 1979, he had "signed the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul"...

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Afghan Peace Talks Widen US-UK Rift on War Policy

The beginning of political talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban revealed by press accounts this week is likely to deepen the rift that has just erupted in public between the United States and its British ally over the US commitment to an escalation of...

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Friday: 40 Iraqis Killed; 88 Wounded

Updated at 9:35 p.m. EDT. Oct. 10, 2008At least 40 Iraqis were killed and 88 more were wounded in today's attacks. Significant attacks occurred at marketplaces in Baghdad and Mosul. Marketplaces are popular places to visit on the prayer day. Subsequently, they have...

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Pas d’Argent, Pas de Suisse

The old saying, "No money, no Swiss," dates to the early days of the state, but it is no less relevant today than it was 500 years ago. Money is the lifeblood of militaries now just as it was then. In case anyone hasn't noticed, the United States is...

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Israeli Bestseller Breaks National Taboo

No one is more surprised than Shlomo Sand that his latest academic work has spent 19 weeks on Israel's bestseller list – and that success has come to the history professor despite his book challenging Israel's biggest taboo. Dr. Sand argues that the idea of a...

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