Peace and Security
We’ve Got to Get out of There
Pretty much everyone (outside of the nutty “he’s the Antichrist” coalition) thinks President Barack Obama did the right thing in firing his Afghanistan commander, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. Unfortunately, he did it for the wrong reasons.
Afghanistan Exit Strategy
The Lineup: Week of July 5-12, 2010
Here’s what you’ll find in the latest OtherWords editorial package, which features a Donald Kaul column and Khalil Bendib cartoon on the futility of the Afghanistan War and an op-ed about the “passion investments” of the how the ultra-rich.
Narco-Subs: Another Reason Why the Drug War is Futile
Here’s the latest evidence that the so-called War on Drugs simply can’t be won: Narco subs.
Pentagon Plans $100 Billion in Spending Cuts
It finally looks like the Pentagon isn’t immune to Washington’s deficit-reduction fever.
It’s Time for Israel to End the Gaza Siege
Why would the Israeli navy commandeer boats carrying collapsible wheelchairs and bags of cement to the Gaza Strip? Israel says that the aid convoys are trying to “break the blockade” of the densely populated Palestinian enclave. But why is there a blockade in the first place?
Tea Party Should Attack Military Spending
Bring government down to the bare bones, the tea-party people say. Mainstream reporters are dutifully noting all this, for the most part. Meanwhile, they’re failing to ask tea party activists about a more effective way to curb deficit-building federal spending that’s not on their cost-cutting wish-list: the wasteful programs embedded in world’s largest bureaucracy, the Pentagon.
Downplaying the Mess of War
The best part of America’s wars is that, except for limited attacks during WWII, all our conflicts have been fought on somebody else’s soil since the battle of Appomattox. This represents good and careful planning. You certainly don’t want your own constituents grousing about residual Agent Orange, depleted uranium, unexploded ordnance, blown-up bridges, or torn-down homes.
Fresh Thinking on National Security
Everyone wants America to be safe and secure. And our government has a wide array of tools for accomplishing that.
Israel’s Flotilla Massacre: Made in the USA
When Israeli commandoes launched their pirate-style assault on the unarmed flotilla of ships carrying hundreds of humanitarian aid workers and 10,000 tons of supplies for the besieged Gaza Strip, killing at least nine activists and injuring scores more, part of the operation was labeled “Made in the USA.”
