Once in a while, the ambiguous legal, political, and practical implications of Blackwater’s private security forces in Iraq create problems that are, to put it mildly, awkward. Employees of Blackwater USA, a private security firm under contract to the State Department, opened fire on the streets of Baghdad twice in two days last week, and […]
Dick Cheney, yesterday, at the United States Military Academy Commencement at West Point: “As Army officers on duty in the war on terror, you will now face enemies who oppose and despise everything you know to be right, every notion of upright conduct and character, and every belief you consider worth fighting for and living […]
Another grim Memorial Day. Americans have opened nearly 1,000 new graves to bury U.S. troops killed in Iraq since Memorial Day a year ago. The figure is telling — and expected to rise in coming months. In the period from Memorial Day 2006 through Saturday, 980 soldiers and Marines died in Iraq, compared to 807 […]
At a White House press conference this week, NBC’s David Gregory asked the president a highly relevant question: “Can you explain why you believe you’re still a credible messenger on the war?” Bush didn’t hesitate. “I’m credible because I read the intelligence, David,” he said. It’s one thing to read intelligence reports; it’s another to […]
When it comes to Middle East policy, career U.S. intelligence officer Patrick Lang is hardly a slouch. He was in charge of the Middle East, South Asia, and terrorism for the Defense Intelligence Agency in the 1990s, and was later tapped to run the Pentagon’s international spying operations. So when he sat down in 2001 […]
Way back in February 2006, Barack Obama and John McCain got into quite a dust-up over a lobbying reform measure. McCain wanted a task force, Obama preferred using standing committees, and McCain lost his cool. Long story. Yesterday, their rivalry seemed to grow considerably more intense. Here’s the timeline: * McCain accused Obama (and Hillary […]
Stop me if you’ve heard this one … the administration is weighing “concepts” for a major reduction in troop levels in Iraq. The Bush administration is developing what are described as concepts for reducing American combat forces in Iraq by as much as half next year, according to senior administration officials in the midst of […]
First up from The God Machine this week is religion-related news for this Memorial Day weekend. The Creation Museum, a $27-million tourist attraction for those who don’t care for modern science, will open its doors on Monday near Cincinnati. The LA Times had an interesting editorial on the facility. [B]efore the first visitor risks succumbing […]
Guest Post by Morbo For many people, Memorial Day is a time to go to a picnic, hit the beach or just enjoy a day off work. That’s fine, but we should remember it’s also a day to stop and reflect on those who have died fighting our nation’s wars. For some, this might mean […]
Guest Post by Morbo The evangelical men’s group Promise Keepers was a big deal in the 1990s. Tens of thousands of men regularly gathered in football stadiums for rallies. In 1997, the group held a meeting on the National Mall called “Stand in the Gap.” It’s estimated that one million men attended. What is Promise […]