THE historian Victor Davis Hanson recently wrote a brutally clear-eyed piece in The National Review, looking back at America's different approaches to Iraq, Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Afghanistan and how, sadly, none of them could be said to have worked yet. "Let us review the various American policy options for the Middle East …
What Is Plan B In Afghanistan? By Steve Coll
TheNewYorker.com March 14, 2012 Daily Comment The sound coming from Afghanistan these days—painfully familiar to those who have travelled there over the past three decades—is of fabric ripping. Periodically, Afghanistan unravels. The country remains very weak after decades of continual violence, emigration, upheaval, return, clandestine war waged by neighbors, and overt war waged by international …
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Rules Of The Game By Robert Haddick
SmallWarsJournal.com March 23, 2012 This Week at War On March 19, the New York Times described a classified U.S. Central Command war game conducted this month that simulated the outcome of an Israeli attack on Iran. According to U.S. officials who discussed the results with the newspaper, the game "forecasts that the [Israeli] strike would lead to …
The Politician By Yochi J. Dreazen
National Journal March 24, 2012 The Politician The new Defense secretary has a daunting agenda. To achieve it, he'll need to win over a skeptical institution. Good thing he's been practicing for four decades. "Have you seen my bin Laden corner?” It’s a late afternoon in March, and Leon Panetta is showing off mementos from …
The Air Force’s ‘March Madness’
By Mackenzie Eaglen For the men and women of the U.S. Air Force, March 2011—while slightly different than the NCAA men's division I basketball championship—is also known as "March Madness." Why? Because for the first time, according to the Pentagon’s Transportation Command chief, every combatant commander had a priority one mission requiring the help of …
Heart Of Darkness By Maureen Dowd
Washington -- When the gentleman from North Carolina mentioned “Uncle Chang,” it hit with an awkward clang. “We are spending $10 billion a month that we can’t even pay for,” said Congressman Walter Jones, that rarest of birds, a Southern Republican dove. “The Chinese — Uncle Chang is lending us the money to pay that …
Time To Consider An Iran With The Bomb
Washington Post March 20, 2012 Pg. 15 Fine Print By Walter Pincus Which would be worse if sanctions and diplomacy fail: the aftermath of an Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran to set back its nuclear program, or the Tehran regime having the bomb? Of course, one hopes the sanctions/diplomacy route succeeds. But what if …
Bill Would Strengthen New GI Bill By Tom Philpott
Newport News Daily Press March 19, 2012 Military Update What if the military gave every service member an expensive car as a reward for honorable service, but they could take delivery only at night and the headlights didn't work? Many of those gift cars might end up damaged. Something similar is happening to thousands of …
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Falling In And Out Of War By Bill Keller
New York Times March 19, 2012 Pg. 21 WHEN you've been wrong about something as important as war, as I have, you owe yourself some hard thinking about how to avoid repeating the mistake. And if that's true for a mere kibitzing columnist, it's immeasurably more true for those in a position to actually start …
My Lai Revisited After Afghanistan Massacre
Newsweek March 26, 2012 When a shooter goes mad: The U.S. soldiers in My Lai got off easy. But America has changed. The alleged killer in Kandahar won't be so lucky. By Stephen L. Carter On March 16, 1968, two platoons of American soldiers arrived at the hamlet of My Lai, in the district known …
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