Why don’t we lay this stuff to rest now, mmkay?
Archive for the ‘Terrorism’ Category
Al-Qaeda. Plague. Gay. Rape.
Posted in Al-Qaeda, Terrorism on February 5, 2009 | 14 Comments »
Morning Brief: Anbar, Renditions and the German Jihad
Posted in Human rights, Iraq, Iraq: Elections, Terrorism on February 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Working against a deadline, so a couple of quick links will have to do for now:
At Foreign Policy, Marc Lynch pours cold water on the rapturous reception of Iraq’s provincial elections, with special emphasis on Anbar.
At Jihadica, Anne Stenersen looks at the lack of a unified strategy by AQ and its affiliates on how to [...]
The Bush Legacy: Goodbye, GWOT
Posted in Terrorism on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Financial Times:
The late Roman republic was once badly defeated by the Parthians, who ruled most of today’s Iraq and Iran. But no historian records that the Romans thereafter declared a global war on the Parthian shot.
Bush: Still Crazy But No Longer Scary
Posted in Terrorism on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
My feelings exactly:
Watching this speech reminds me of when I listened to my high school principal speak for the first time after I graduated. He still sounded crazy but no longer scared me.
(Via Spencer.)
Will Poor Intelligence Be Obama’s Undoing?
Posted in Terrorism on January 16, 2009 | 1 Comment »
In a word, incredible:
[...] The melancholy truth, according to my well placed sources, is that even after the intelligence disasters of 9/11 and Iraq, President Obama has a better chance of getting up-to-the-minute information on, say, Hamas, from newspapers than he does the PDB – the President’s Daily Brief – served up by the Directorate [...]
CIA: Panetta ‘Doomed’ with Kappes as Deputy
Posted in Terrorism on January 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In SpyTalk, Jeff Stein quotes intelligence professionals who believe incoming CIA chief Leon Panetta will be in a world of hurt with his deputy, Steve Kappes:
The lionization of Kappes among ops veterans at the CIA still rankles some officials from that era, who think [Porter] Goss got a raw deal.
I would say that if Kappes [...]
Take That, Bloggers: Brennan Named CT Coordinator
Posted in Terrorism on January 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
If this New York Times story turns out correct, Glenn Greenwald and Scott Horton will wake up to a nasty shock:
President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to scrap the way President Bush oversaw domestic security in the White House and name a former Central Intelligence Agency official to coordinate counterterrorism, people close to the transition said [...]
Obama Sighs in Relief as Bloggers Endorse Panetta
Posted in Human rights, Terrorism on January 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Phew. After the blogger-concocted “Brennan scandal”, it must come as a great relief to Team Obama that the same virtual vetters are wholeheartedly endorsing the president-elect’s choice of Leon Panetta as CIA chief.
Here’s Salon’s Glenn Greenwald recycling his own narrative:
I don’t have any particular thoughts, one way or the other, about Panetta himself, but — [...]
Lashkar-e-Taiba: The Next al-Qaeda
Posted in Al-Qaeda, Terrorism on December 11, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Here’s a new brand name the next U.S. president will have to try and wrap his tongue around: Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Not only did LeT apparently train the Mumbai attackers, but, according to a United Nations document scooped by McClatchy, the group has “sent operatives to attack U.S. troops in Iraq, established a branch in Saudi Arabia and [...]
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” [...]
