Someone please define what exactly a smoking gun is, and what will actually constitute material breach of UN Resolution 1441. I want to discuss this issue in good faith, but it is clear to me that I simply do not understand the terms of the debate.
Foreign Affairs
All Clear?
Josh Marshall ‘clarifies’ his position on the war.
The UN
Josh Marshall (via Matt Yglesias) describes an intelligence officer that he knows stating his biggest fear: His greatest worry was not in the neighborhood, but the world: the costs — unreckonable to some degree — of wrecking the international state system to get this done. The pros and cons of handling Iraq have never been …
Psychological Operations
Ted Barlow wonders whether Psychological Operations, leaflet drops in particular, are successful. The answer, of course, is yes. Here is a link to some information on psyops usage by the military and here is a link to some of the leaflets dropped during Desert Storm. And here is my absolute favorite leaflet they used: “Flee …
Recruiting Suicide Bombers
I have been very outspoken in my defense of Israel, but this, if reported accurately, is absolutely unacceptable: Israeli forces killed at least 11 Palestinians, including some torn apart by a tank shell, in a major raid into a militant stronghold in the Gaza Strip after a suicide bomber killed 15 people in Israel. The …
Calm Down, Everyone
Level-headed Jeralynn at Talk Left (who is, IMHO, quite appropriately waiting for more information) and the more flame-throwing Atrios link to this story: Military coroners have determined that the deaths of two detainees while in U.S. custody in Afghanistan were homicides, CNN has confirmed. Some readers have commented in TalkLeft’s comments section: Are we to …
Must Read
An interesting read in the Washington Monthly about the military and troop strength. Some of this appears needlessly breathless, and I am not sure about the figures regarding those who are deployed are presented in a fair light- yes- we have deployed more since 2000, but Afghanistan was necessary. Likewise, when you calculate those forces …