I'm going to go out on a limb here, and publicly post a response to a debate that I've been having with a friend on email for a while now. Moreover, I'm going to go even more out on a limb and argue, well, you saw the title. The beauty of a blog.Background: What got this started was my earlier post where I concluded that withdrawal from Iraq was the least-bad option. My friend replied, yes, but isn't that just leaving a mess that will do...

The ongoing VDH war at Lawyers, Guns, and Money has, at least for the moment, degenerated into an exercise in CV parsing. No. I'm not joking. The question: does Rob Farley's status as an Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky automatically make his arguments concerning President Carter's defense policy less compelling than those of someone who is a Professor Professor Emeritus at Stanford Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover...

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. -Matthew 7:12What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellowman. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary. - Talmud, Shabbat 3idI have little to add to the cogent analysis of those who still believe in the bedrock principles of the United States. The bill that passed the Senate, by definition, establishes tyranny. Not the...

This looks like an amazing major. Check out the Department and the course offerings.Note the disclaimer. And take a look at the markup.Thanks to Alex M. for bringing this to our attention.Filed as: miscellany

There are about 5 things I want to write about, maybe I'll have the time to get to some of them this weekend-- Iraq, the NIE (though Dan has a nice post on it), what in the world was Musharaf doing on the Daily Show....But, I can't resist yet another Defense Spending post....This one from the F-22 files (and yes, its also an excuse to post a cool picture).Congress just voted to buy way more planes than the Administration wants, adding Billions...

Steven Taylor approving quotes James Joyner's dismissal of the ruckus over the NIE:One would be remiss for failing to note that these are the same intelligence agencies who failed to predict the Iranian Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the war in the Balkans, Pakistan’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, North Korea’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, the 9/11 attacks, London bombings, Madrid bombings, and other major events. Or that...

President Bush, September 15, 2006: THE PRESIDENT: This debate is occurring because of the Supreme Court's ruling that said that we must conduct ourselves under the Common Article III of the Geneva Convention. And that Common Article III says that there will be no outrages upon human dignity. It's very vague. What does that mean, "outrages upon human dignity"? That's a statement that is wide open to interpretation.U.S. National Security...

I would be remiss if I failed to link to Rob Farley's interesting post on Chinese military procurement strategy. The Chinese, according to Defense News, have been testing a ground-based laser designed to temporary "bind" US satellites. Rob argues that this fits the Chinese strategy of developing capabilities designed to fight an asymmetric war against the United States.China's defense procurement, by and large, does not seem driven by this...

Shorter Victor Davis Hanson: "Iraq and Afghanistan are both in terrible shape. This clearly vindicates the Republican position on unilateralism and, in consequence, undermines Democratic complaints about Bush foreign policy."As we reflect on this particular rhetorical gem, let me stress that I don't think there is anything wrong with criticizing the lack of clear Democratic policies on Iraq and Afghanistan. But our current administration just...

"Basques," according to Stephen Oppenheimer in the October issue of Prospect.Yet there is no agreement among historians or archaeologists on the meaning of the words "Celtic" or "Anglo-Saxon." What is more, new evidence from genetic analysis (see note below) indicates that the Anglo-Saxons and Celts, to the extent that they can be defined genetically, were both small immigrant minorities. Neither group had much more impact on the British Isles...