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...
Is Assassinating Iranian Nuclear Scientists ‘Characteristic of the Mossad’?
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,...
‘Such things happen all the time…’
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...
Literally Searching for Monsters to Destroy: Why Somalia Ain’t Getting Better
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...
John Glaser on RT Talking War in Afghanistan
Gitmo Actually Was a Prison Camp Before
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,...
Signs the War Ought to be Reconsidered…
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...
Full Spectrum Dominance
(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.
The Last Refuge of the (Happy) Scoundrel
A recent study found that nationalism "brings happiness." METHODOLOGY: Tim Reeskens, a sociologist from Catholic University in Belgium, and Matthew Wright, a political scientist at American University, categorized national pride into "ethnic nationalism," which is...
Trita Parsi on assassinating the Iranian nuclear scientist
Another Iranian nuclear scientist has been assassinated in Tehran and a familiar pattern is emerging: Weeks before a new round of talks, all sides escalate and provoke, mainly to improve their negotiating position at the upcoming talks. The West has adopted new...


