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| Current Topic: War on Terrorism |
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Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terrorism |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
2:05 pm EST, Nov 13, 2004 |
Is assassination ever acceptable? Against whom? Should the government infiltrate religious and political groups? When can coercion be used in interrogation -- and who decides? Since 9/11, there has been a lot of talk about the difficult "balancing act" between civil liberties and national security, but few have considered exactly where and how that balance should be struck. This project finally takes a hard and detailed look. The full text of the report is available in PDF. Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terrorism |
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US Forces Begin Moving Into Falluja |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
9:52 pm EST, Nov 7, 2004 |
It begins tonight. And with it, the countdown to Pakistan, as well. US Forces Begin Moving Into Falluja |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
8:50 am EDT, Oct 19, 2004 |
Tommy Franks says that John Kerry's version of the events in Afghanistan doesn't square with reality. First, Kerry says we "had an opportunity to capture or kill Osama bin Laden" and that "we had him surrounded.". This is simply not true. Mr. bin Laden was never within our grasp. Second, we did not "outsource" military action. Third, the Afghans weren't left to do the job alone. Neither attention nor manpower was diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq. What starts out with promise ends up seeming like quite a stretch, and by aping the methods he aims to debunk, only sustains Kerry's arguments. War of Words |
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RE: Fukuyama: The Neoconservative Moment |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
6:10 pm EDT, Oct 9, 2004 |
Decius wrote:
] His arguments are clear-cut, complete, and free from the
] emotional attacks of typical punditry. I also happen to agree
] with him, mostly, and I don't usually agree with Fukuyama.
]
] His suggestion that we construct a formal federal department
] of nation building is both pragmatic and extremely unsettling. What is it about this suggestion that you find so unsettling? When Nick refers to "think tanks" as an alternative to a federal department, I think this misses the suggestion. What we need is a "do tank", not a "think tank". RE: Fukuyama: The Neoconservative Moment |
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Fukuyama: The Neoconservative Moment |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
5:59 pm EDT, Oct 9, 2004 |
Americans have no particular taste or facility for nation-building: we want exit strategies rather than empires. Lurking like an unbidden guest at a dinner party is the reality of what has happened in Iraq since the US invasion: We have been our usual inept and disorganized selves in planning for and carrying out the reconstruction, something that was predictible in advance and should not have surprised anyone familiar with American history. The point here is not who is right, but rather that the prudential case was not nearly as open-and-shut as neoconservatives believe. Krauthammer talks as if the Bush Administration's judgment had been vindicated at every turn, and that any questioning of it can only be the result of base or dishonest motives. Would that this were so. The fact that our judgment was flawed has created an enormous legitimacy problem for us, one that will hurt our interests for a long time to come. The hope that we would be awarded ex post legitimacy was not an unreasonable calculation. It might indeed have materialized had the United States found a large and active WMD program in Iraq after the invasion. BINGO! This is why Bush was unhappy about not finding WMDs. His comment in the debate makes more sense now. The world is different now than it was during the Cold War in ways that will affect our future ability to exert leadership and claim to speak on behalf of the world as a whole. In al-Qaeda and other radical Islamist groups, we do in fact confront an enemy that hates us for what we are rather than for what we do. Actually, experts would disagree with that characterization of al-Qaeda. Read Imperial Hubris, for example. And now, for the best part: It is inevitable that we will get sucked into large social-engineering projects in the future, and we need to be much better prepared. This means establishing a permanent office with authority and resources appropriate for the job next time around as part of a broader restructuring of the US government's soft-power agencies. Fukuyama: The Neoconservative Moment |
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What I Really Said About Iraq |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
9:21 am EDT, Oct 8, 2004 |
Paul Bremer writes: The press has been curiously reluctant to report my constant public support for the president's strategy in Iraq and his policies to fight terrorism. I have been involved in the war on terrorism for two decades, and in my view no world leader has better understood the stakes in this global war than President Bush. What I Really Said About Iraq |
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America's Secret War - On Sale Now |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
1:30 pm EDT, Oct 2, 2004 |
In America's Secret War George Friedman identifies the United States's most dangerous enemies, delving into everything from presidential strategies of the last quarter century to hidden reasons behind the attack of 9/11 to the true aim of the war in Iraq. This book doesn't go on sale until October 5, but you can buy it here today for half price. By comparison, Amazon is taking pre-orders at a 32% discount. America's Secret War - On Sale Now |
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What You Should Do to Prepare for and Respond to Chemical, Radiological, Nuclear, and Biological Terrorist Attacks |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
10:32 am EDT, Oct 2, 2004 |
This handy-dandy pocket guide focuses on simple steps individuals can take to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks with chemical, biological, radiological ("dirty bomb") and nuclear weapons. The guides contain both preparatory steps and specific response guidance. This includes what individuals will experience, what their goals should be, and what they should do during each type of attack. What You Should Do to Prepare for and Respond to Chemical, Radiological, Nuclear, and Biological Terrorist Attacks |
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The 9/11 unstated indictment |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
2:03 am EDT, Aug 31, 2004 |
As the price of bipartisan unanimity, the 9/11 Commission Report assiduously avoids apportioning blame to individuals, or naming names. But no one who has actually read the report can miss its searing indictment. Absent "historic change" in current behavior, Americans will find themselves victims of further catastrophic terrorist attacks -- perhaps even soon. The 9/11 unstated indictment |
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The Limits of Intelligence: Iraq's Lessons |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
1:59 am EDT, Aug 31, 2004 |
In allocating blame for the intelligence failure over Iraq, critics of the Bush administration focus on former CIA Director George Tenet's bending to White House pressure or the administration's mishandling of intelligence. Supporters of the president downplay White House responsibility and focus instead on the failings of the intelligence community and the possible need for structural reforms. Neither side has it completely wrong -- or right. There is substantial evidence that the Bush administration -- like many of its predecessors -- oversold the threat to sell its preferred policy choice. But any quest to 'fix' intelligence merely through reorganisation will be futile insofar as it avoids the more prosaic but more critical matter of intelligence effectiveness. This depends far less on structural reform than on the quality of collected intelligence, the nature of the analytic process and, ultimately, the relationship between intelligence and policymaking officials. Subscription required for access to full text. The Limits of Intelligence: Iraq's Lessons |
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