I don't have time to comment on the document yet since I just got my hands on it, but I will definitely post my thoughts soon. In the meantime, here is a link to the full-text.Filed as: Iraq, Exit Strategy
I don't have time to comment on the document yet since I just got my hands on it, but I will definitely post my thoughts soon. In the meantime, here is a link to the full-text.Filed as: Iraq, Exit Strategy
Why, oh why do people continue to assert that the US is required in any way to defend Taiwan in the case of an attack by mainland China? The latest example of this fallacy comes from an AFP report...
Josh Marshall asks if Abu Musab Zarqawi is really the mastermind behind Mesopotamian jihadism.It it is hard not to see this information in the light of the fairly constant tendency through the War...
My 18-month old daughter is in a binge-reading phase. She hunts for a book, carries it over to any adult who happens to be in the vicinity, and presents it while exclaiming "Enh! Ehn! Booshk! Enh!...
Those doors are tricky in China. Damn commies will do anything to make you look bad.And yes, I am a streak-poster.Filed as: President Bush
As I sat down to write this post I paused for a moment and thought, “do we really need another Iraq post?” This was a very sincere thought. Rodger and Dan have done a good job discussing the politics surrounding the Iraq conflict. I have written a number of posts regarding my own view of the war's rationale and how it fits in to a broader grand strategy*. And we never want for new developments covered in the media—whether its controversy over yellow cake, brutal character assassination in the House, or the ongoing struggle to reach a political settlement. In short, we are inundated with...
I cannot think of any other way to characterize the remarks made by Congresswoman Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) during debate yesterday on the House floor. The lower chamber was debating a procedural rule connected to a Republican-proposed measure that attempted to make Democrats go on the record in favor of a measure similar to the one proposed earlier this week by Congressman John Murtha (D-Pa.), which called for the immediate withdrawl of US troops in Iraq. While I do not support Murtha's proposal (I am not yet convinced that pull out is the best strategic option at this point), the notion that...
The current issue of Foreign Policy includes an interesting study titled Inside the Ivory Tower. The story discusses the composition and nature of International Relations education in the United States. I would link to it directly but unfortunately it is behind a subscription wall so you will have to pick up your own copy. Some of what is reported is expected. For example, Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Princeton and Chicago made up the top 5 PhD programs. One thing I found surprising is that MIT was ranked 11th. Given the strength of that program's security faculty and the students they have...
Clinton did it too, right?Iraq Liberation Act of 1998 (Enrolled as Agreed to or Passed by Both House and Senate)--H.R.4655-- SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize or otherwise speak to the use of United States Armed Forces (except as provided in section 4(a)(2)) in carrying out this Act.As for that part:SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT A TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ. (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE- The President may provide to the Iraqi democratic opposition organizations designated in accordance with section 5 the following assistance:(2)...
How bloody difficult is it for people to distinguish the widespread belief that Iraq had possession of biological and chemical agents from the Bush administration's arguments that Hussein's possession of, or eventual acquisition of, weapons of mass destruction posed an imminent threat to America's urban centers? I know we have a small readership, but it isn't exactly like Rodger and I are the only people explaining the difference.This, after all, is what's at stake in accusations that the Bush administration distorted and selectively used intelligence to make their case for war: they...
The success of a free Afghanistan is our fight. The war on terror is our fight. All of us are called to share the blessings of liberty, and to be strong and steady in freedom's defense. It will surely be said of our times that we lived with great challenges. Let it also be said of our times that we understood our great duties, and met them in full.- George W. Bush, March 2004.UK tries to form coalition to fight in Afghanistan British troops to target al-Qaida, Taliban and fill gap left by US withdrawal- Simon Tisdall and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, Tuesday November 15, 2005It may be...
A lot of people think that "crazy postmodernists" are the biggest threat to the integrity of social science. Certainly, in my field, it isn't hard to find disciplinary statements that exclude "postmodernism" from the acceptable range of opinion about how to conduct social-scientific inquiry. I disagree. The real threat, in my view, is the practice of incredibly bad social science. (Warning: the link and the rest of this post contain referencess to sexual activity)Michael Scherer of Salon.com:With those words, Brownback kicked off a 90-minute discussion of hardcore sex scenes,...