One of the defining characteristics of contemporary conservatism is to let irrational fear guide how much freedom Americans should be allowed to exercise and, correspondingly, how much unchecked power the government should have over individual rights and the "national...
The liberated Iraq: "We had to send [the security men] phone cards so they could call us. They said: 'Your son is being tortured – he will die if you don't pay.' So we paid and paid. What could I do? He is the last I have. I said I would sell myself in the streets,...
By now, I’m sure most readers of this blog are informed about Mark Perry’s blockbuster story Friday on foreignpolilcy.com that describes how Israeli Mossad agents posed as U.S. spies to recruit and use members of the Jundallah group to carry out what the State...
Eli Lake reports at the Daily Beast: ...Patrick Clawson, the director of research at the Washington Institute for Near Policy, said the signs point to Israel. “This sophisticated technique is uncharacteristic of the Iranian armed opposition and the Iranian government,...
McClatchy reports that Afghans aren't surprised by the video of U.S. Marines urinating on dead Afghans: In Afghanistan, while no major protests were reported the day after the video surfaced online — purporting to show four Marines standing in a semicircle and...
The Economist editorializes about the situation in Somalia and surprisingly implies an optimistic future. Somalia may now have its best chance of peace and security since 1991. If the government can consolidate its hold on Mogadishu, it will be a big step forward. The...
Historian Jonathan M. Hansen has a unique and wonderfully written piece today in the New York Times about Guantánamo -- the base itself, not the terror-war prison camp. In it, he reminds us of the century-long imperialist project just a puddle-jumper ride from Miami,...
This video appears to show four Marines laughing while they urinate on Afghan corpses. One of them jokingly says "Have a great day, buddy." Warning: Graphic The individual who uploaded the YouTube video, which is becoming viral, is not known and the details in the...
(h/t to Kevin Hall) I touched upon similar issues here and here. Note also how this full spectrum dominance is being applied with renewed effort in Asia-Pacific, due to irrational fears of China.
