Regular readers know that I have been critical of Gen. Petraeus’s counterinsurgency doctrine because I found it unrealistic, and I wish the US had just withdrawn militarily from Afghanistan in 2002. Lt. Col. John L. Cook, Ret., argues in his new book that the counterinsurgency doctrine made for bad military tactics and strategy on the battlefield. […]
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Uncategorized
Winning the war on Fracking would be the biggest Victory of All (Cantarow)
Ellen Cantarow writes at Tomdispatch: There’s a war going on that you know nothing about between a coalition of great powers and a small insurgent movement. It’s a secret war being waged in the shadows while you go about your everyday life. In the end, this conflict may matter more than those in Iraq and […]
Palestinians say Israel trying to Silence Media, by Attacking Journalists
The USG Open Source Center translates articles from the Arabic on the Israeli attack on newspapers and journalists in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians Say Israel Trying To Silence Media Following Attack on Journalists West Bank and Gaza Strip — OSC Summary Sunday, November 18, 2012 … Document Type: OSC Summary… The Bethlehem-based independent Ma’an News […]
Iran Sanctions may be ‘Crippling,’ but they are not ‘Working’ (Cher)
Ladan Cher writes in a guest column for Informed Comment On Iran and sanctions, a necessary clarification: “Crippling” is not synonymous for “working” In the tug-of-war between Iran and the United States, sanctions remain the Hail Mary approach to an ever-present picture in international politics: a nation wants to avoid military force but needs to […]
Wagging the Dog in Gaza: Netanyahu’s Skirmish of Fear (Sternfeld)
Lior Sternfeld writes in a guest column for Informed Comment Israel has embarked, with its Gaza attack, on the all-too-well-known elections routine. Before the 2009 elections, the defense minister, Ehud Barak, who then led the Labor party, saw his party performing poorly in the national polls. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert needed some public support as […]
The Arab Reading of the Petraeus/Allen Affair: Jill Kelley is Gilberte Khawam, a Lebanese
The headlines about the Petraeus affair in the Arab world this morning almost universally read something like “Lebanese woman brings down CIA.” The woman who seems to have destroyed three careers and kicked off the FBI investigation of Gen. David Petraeus, ex-director of the CIA, goes by Jill Kelley. But her maiden name is Gilberte […]
Why did the Press Mythologize Gen. Petraeus in the first place?: Michael Hastings @ Piers Morgan
Journalist Michael Hastings asks some quick, sharp questions about press deference to power. Hastings is the author of The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America’s War in Afghanistan
Juan Cole: Real Petraeus Failure Was Counter-Insurgency in Iraq, Afghanistan (Democracy Now!)
Here is Amy Goodman’s interview with me, which was broadcast on Democracy Now! This morning. Via YouTube here Here is DN’s lead-in: CIA director David Petraeus has resigned following revelations of an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, a married U.S. Army reservist. "This personal issue that cropped up that ruined his career at […]
Bradley Manning would Cop to Wikileaks if Spying, Aiding Enemy charges are Dropped (DemocracyNow!)
Mirrored from DemocracyNow! Accused U.S. Army whistleblower Bradley Manning has offered to submit a partial guilty plea on charges of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks in return for the government agreeing to pursue lesser charges. Manning’s attorney David Coombs says he is prepared to plead guilty to some of the charges, but not the entire […]
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