As former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari prepares to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Wednesday, it is worth remembering that in 2003, he was a proponent of what turned out to be the greatest military misadventure of our time.
In August 2003, five months after the United States invaded Iraq, Ahtisaari made it known [...]
Archive for December, 2008
Martti Ahtisaari: Nobel Laureate Who Supported Iraq War
Posted in Iraq on December 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
McCarthyism on the Left: Greenwald Lists ‘Brennan Defenders’
Posted in Human rights, Media, Terrorism on December 9, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Salon blogger Glenn Greenwald, who has been a leading voice in the echo chamber of Google-based criticism of John Brennan’s CIA candidacy, today goes a step further in his self-righteous offensive and — I can’t believe I’m writing this — in true McCarthyist fashion provides a list of reporters he thinks have erred in “defending” [...]
Kilcullen on Mumbai: Did U.S. Money Help Plan the Attack?
Posted in Al-Qaeda, India, Militancy, Pakistan, Terrorism on December 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In a panel hosted by Counterterrorism Blog, CNAS Fellow and COIN guru David Kilcullen offers good insight on the Mumbai attacks:
On the tactics:
‘This was not some Islamic charity or some group working alone from the Deccan Mujahedeen: this has all the hallmarks of a Special Forces raid, closer to a commando or SBS raiding activity [...]
Eschewing Ideology, Obama Draws Liberal Ire
Posted in Election 08 on December 9, 2008 | 1 Comment »
“Liberals are growing increasingly nervous – and some just flat-out angry – that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices”, reports Politico.
I don’t quite get this. I consider myself something of a liberal, and I’ve supported Obama exactly because he’s pragmatic, lawyerly, and centrist. If anything, his cabinet [...]
ICOS Report: Kabul Under Siege
Posted in Afghanistan on December 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Here’s an interesting if a little rough map of Kabul from the new ICOS (Senlis Council) report:
Judging by those traffic lights, the capital of Afghanistan is effectively under siege — except that, as you can see from the map, it’s easy for the bad guys to get in.
I’m guessing that one of the reasons there [...]
Iraq: Abandoning Mosul
Posted in Iraq, Mosul on December 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Despite years of military offensives, Mosul remains a running sore, and there is no end in sight to the bloodshed. Unfortunately, the city’s troubles will only get worse, come 2009.
The 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, the American unit responsible for bringing a semblance of order to the chaotic metropolis, will soon end its 15-month deployment, and [...]
The Kabul Plan: Plugging a Sieve with a Grain of Sand
Posted in Afghanistan on December 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In an alarming sign that the U.S. really might be trying to replicate its Iraq “surge” strategy in Afghanistan, “the vast majority” of the new combat troops arriving in January will be deployed to secure the capital, the New York Times reports.
It’s not that Kabul doesn’t need to be protected; it’s just that it isn’t [...]
Iraq’s Future: A Pessimistic Assessment
Posted in Iraq on December 6, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’m hardly an optimist on Iraq, but this kind of pessimism is shocking. A meeting at the Barcelona Centre for Information and Documentation in October 2008 discussed three scenarios for Iraq in the near future:
A return to civil war between Iraqi factions, against a background of a US withdrawal.
A settlement imposed, or at [...]
Afghanistan: Growing a Gut While Others Bleed
Posted in Afghanistan on December 5, 2008 | 3 Comments »
David Betz at Kings of War has read the news that the German ISAF troops in Northern Afghanistan are miserable, beer-guzzling fatbodies:
They’re not too chubby and cheery to fight the Taliban; they’re not fighting as a matter of policy of the German government. This raises the question what they’re there for in the first place. Surely [...]
Mumbai Attacks, the Grand Scheme and Shadows of 2001
Posted in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda, India, Militancy, Pakistan, Terrorism on December 5, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I think this much is clear:
Whoever the Mumbai attackers were, and whatever power they swore allegiance to, they weren’t acting on their own, and those who set things in motion had a larger strategic goal in mind: to relieve military pressure on the Taleban, al-Qaeda and other forces operating along the Afghan-Pakistani border, by provoking [...]
