President Obama defended U.S. strategy against the so-called Islamic State at a news conference following the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey.
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Obama Must Wage War on the Islamic State, Not Merely Harass It
Posted November 16th, 2015 at 1:40 pm (UTC-5)
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The president was right when he called the Islamic State a cancer, but it is a cancer that metastasized on his watch. Paris is proof.
What Next?
Posted November 16th, 2015 at 11:41 am (UTC-5)
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The scale of the attacks across Paris is forcing a global rethink on how to prevent terrorism. Even as the violence unfolded last Friday evening, world leaders were going live, sending a clear message to the Islamic State that such carnage will not be allowed to stand. As the dead and injured are mourned, and Parisians try to absorb the terrible reality of the coordinated attacks, governments are asking what else must be done to stop such evil.
Veterans Day: The View From Iraq
Posted November 12th, 2015 at 10:55 am (UTC-5)
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Over the past 12 years, American and Iraqi soldiers have fought alongside each other, bled together, died together and wept together to mourn our fallen comrades… Iraqis understand why the service and sacrifice of so many Iraqis and Americans must not be in vain…
America’s “After-wars”
Posted November 11th, 2015 at 1:48 pm (UTC-5)
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Veterans Day is a somber moment for Americans to pause and honor the men and women who have served the United States in war. But what of the other battles that erupt when American veterans return from active duty to resume their lives? The so-called “walking wounded” are everywhere: the amputee with a prosthetic limb, the U.S. official who must decide whether to send men and women into combat (Who can forget former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visibly tearing up when asked about American troops fighting in Iraq?) and those who appear to be okay, but really aren’t. There are countless men and women suffering with brain injuries or PTSD – post-traumatic stress disorder – or both. And there are the parents, spouses, partners and children of the dead whose lives are forever changed. There is widespread acknowledgement that many of our vets have been under-treated, if treated at all. That war drags on, slowly and painfully, for its victims.
Former President Bush Rates Another Former President – His Son
Posted November 6th, 2015 at 1:54 pm (UTC-5)
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It’s an odd and not at all common family situation: a former president weighs in on the presidency of his son. Meanwhile, it’s all made public just as another, younger son struggles to win the Republican presidential nomination. In a new biography, set to be released next week, former President George H.W. Bush sharply criticizes two key figures in former George W. Bush’s presidency: Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Father Bush feels they did not serve his son well during a very difficult moment in his presidency, the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. It feels a little like airing private family matters, or settling personal grudges. But as one columnist pointed out, the elder Bush was recording history as several U.S. presidents have already done. Either way, Rumsfeld punched back shortly after the biography was reported in the press. In an interview with NBC News, Rumsfeld told NBC News “Bush 41 is getting up in years…”
Why the New ISIL Strategy is a Bad Idea
Posted October 28th, 2015 at 2:51 pm (UTC-5)
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An American-led effort to impose a post-conflict settlement on the ground in Syria requires Washington to either return “liberated” territory to the Assad government or serve as an auxiliary peacekeeping force for the outgunned opposition.
Russia, Kurdish Aspirations and Brutal Enemy Call for Deft US Moves in Syria
Posted October 23rd, 2015 at 12:09 pm (UTC-5)
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Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Syria, a messy situation that has helped fuel the growth of the Isamic State – and appears to be creating a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia. The Obama administration is implementing its new “Syria First” policy, which relies on arming certain Kurdish factions to take the fight to the Islamic State coupled with U.S. air support. Add Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entry into the fray and his open support of Syria President Bashir al-Assad – who U.S. officials hold responsible for most of the misery – and the cocktail has become a lot more combustible. To make even modest progress, Syria requires the United States to avoid any number of policy and military landmines.
US Shifts Strategy Again. This Time in Syria
Posted October 16th, 2015 at 1:35 pm (UTC-5)
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The Obama administration is pursuing a new tactic to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift to a “Syria First” strategy came after the United States ended its plan to train so-called “moderate Syrians,” an expensive strategy that produced few results. The idea goes something like this: by shifting America’s focus from Iraq to Syria first, Washington can battle IS independently of Iran, and hopefully set the stage for a post-Assad Syria. But there’s a hitch: Russia. President Vladimir Putin, a vocal supporter of the Syrian president, has made his presence known, complicating an already very complicated scenario for the United States.
Syria: Russian Quagmire? American Quandary
Posted October 6th, 2015 at 4:33 pm (UTC-5)
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Three-dimensional military and diplomatic chess is being played out in the Middle East. Russian warplanes have forayed into Turkish, and by alliance, NATO airspace while flying sorties to support the beleaguered Syrian government. Turkey’s prime minister warns Russian jets could be shot down if they trespass again. Battle-tested Russian “volunteers” may soon put boots on the ground alongside Syrian forces, according to a top Russian official. Is Washington ceding influence in the Middle East to Moscow? Or, is Russia repeating its Afghan mistake? It will likely take years to get to checkmate.
How Obama Can One-Up Putin in the Syria Crisis: Support an Independent Kurdistan
Posted October 1st, 2015 at 12:12 pm (UTC-5)
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If Obama wants to get ahead of ominous developments in Syria for once, he should consider throwing U.S. support behind an independent Kurdistan, one that is carved out from the decaying husks of Syria and Iraq.
The Fearsome Foreign Fighters of Islamic State? Many Are Just Children
Posted September 8th, 2015 at 4:33 pm (UTC-5)
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A recent Danish intelligence report noted that the typical age range of foreigners joining the fight in Syria was 16 to 25. That makes them younger than the foreign fighters who streamed into previous jihadist struggles in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia, who were 25 to 30.