The Germans have weight issues. The Finns have beer issues. And now the Czechs apparently have fear issues. Still wondering why the war in Afghanistan is not going ISAF’s way?
Archive for April, 2009
Afghanistan: A War ‘Too Dangerous’ to Fight
Posted in Afghanistan on April 24, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A Message from Management
Posted in Iraq on April 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In Baghdad. Hungry, dusty and in desperate need of sleep. Posting will resume in the next couple of days.
About that Torture Thing, Ctd.
Posted in Human rights on April 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
I’m afraid those still in denial about what CIA interrogators were authorised to do to their prisoners will have to swallow their pride and read these. I particularly recommend the August 1, 2002 Bybee-to-Rizzo memo, which details, with medieval attention to detail, how Abu Zubaydah was to be tortured. For his side of the story, [...]
Can You Say ‘Tragedy’ and ‘Piracy’ in the Same Sentence?
Posted in Misc on April 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
“It’s really hard to place bad actions in context without seeming to play the apologist for them”, Matt Eckel laments at WPR:
In the Levant, for example, attempting to illuminate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza is difficult without seeming to implicitly justify terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Likewise, it’s hard to point out that the [...]
Afghanistan: U.S. Creates Local Militias
Posted in Afghanistan on April 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Mr. President — didn’t we discuss this already? And what did I tell you? Did I not tell you that this is a stupid %&!!&ng idea? Huh? And now you’ve gone and done it anyway?! Do you have any idea how hard it will be to un%&!!& these kind of %&!!&ups??? I mean, jeez…
Iraq: What Next?
Posted in Iraq on April 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Just as I was getting desperate, the good folks at Reuters came up with an excellent Q&A on the recent spate of bombings in Iraq and what, if anything, it means. Also online:
Reidar Visser dissects the election results and wonders whether “the forces that seek to enshrine ethno-sectarian divisions” are making a comeback.
Marc Lynch looks [...]
Why Negotiating with the Taleban Is a Bad Idea
Posted in Afghanistan on April 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Those thinking about negotiating with the Taleban should read the new Carnegie Endowment paper by Ashley Tellis. Here’s the diabolical paradox:
If conciliation offered an honorable exit from the conflict, it would be one thing. But it does not. As the analysis in this report has corroborated, Mullah Omar and the Taliban leadership have decisively rejected [...]
Iraq: Surge, What Surge?
Posted in Iraq on April 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I happen to think Tom Ricks’s The Gamble is a fine history of the surge despite the obvious flaw of forgetting the Iraqi perspective and dismissing SOFA. One of the truly commendable things about the book is that while Ricks clearly admires his subjects, the men and women of the United States armed forces, he [...]
Lynndie England: ‘Honestly, I Don’t Think It Was Enough’
Posted in Human rights on April 9, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Now that y’all have digested that ICRC report I linked to yesterday, here are the excerpts from my Lynndie England interview I promised:
Q: In war, where do you draw the line on what one can do to one’s prisoners?
A: “I don’t know.”
Is there a line?
“It’s hard to say. It depends on… you have to be [...]
Iraq: Al-Sadr’s Supporters Out in Force
Posted in Iraq on April 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Good thing that pesky Moqtada has been sidelined.
