“Obama‘s Wars“, by Bob Woodward (Updated)

Is Obama Complacent about Terrorism?  "Read in context, Wittes notes, the President’s comment “does not reflect complacency, but a hard-headed realism about certain facts.”  There are reasonable bases upon which to criticize the Administration’s approach to national security, but claiming this quote shows complacency about the terrorist threat is not one of them."  Volokh Conspiracy

United States is 'Woefully Unprepared' for Nuclear Terrorism " “Sharif al-Masri, an Egyptian who was captured in late August near Pakistan's border with Iran and Afghanistan, has told his interrogators of "al-Qaeda's interest in moving nuclear materials from Europe to either the U.S. or Mexico," according to a report circulating among U.S. government officials. Masri also said al-Qaeda has considered plans to "smuggle nuclear materials to Mexico, then operatives would carry material into the U.S."" We may wish we had more border states like Arizona with Sheriff Joe. I'm just sayin'.

Sustaining American Leadership with Military Power "This same equation of military-diplomatic power proved effective in easing tensions during the Taiwan Strait crisis in 1995–1996, when President Bill Clinton
sent two aircraft carriers to demonstrate America’s firm commitment to the Taiwanese democracy. Similarly,
the display of America’s military strength against a defiant Saddam Hussein in 2003 convinced Libyan President Moammar Qadhafi to abandon his weapons of mass destruction program." Pacifists will cause the death of multitudes.

Obama's Wars by Bob Woodward: the cast  "Bob Woodward's new book exposes deep divisions between a cast of senior White House figures. Here's a run-down of the key revelations about each of the main players. " UK Telegraph.

Max Boot: Obama’s War  "Ever since President Obama came to office, conservatives have been expressing concern about his level of commitment to the war in Afghanistan. The deadline he announced last fall to begin a troop drawdown in the summer of 2011 only added to doubts about his staying power. But at every decision point, he has consistently opted to double down in Afghanistan rather than pull out, as many of his supporters urge."

This from a Military Blogger:  "Dynamite in the hands of a child is not more dangerous than a strong policy weakly carried out." By Greyhawk in Mudville Gazette

From Roger Simon:  All the President’s Creeps "But does all this ring true? More or less in the way most of Mr. Woodward’s “insta-histories” do. We know the drill by now. All the Beltway riff-raff — panicked their side of the story won’t come out — rush to leak to him before their competitors do, filling up reams of notebook paper for Bob. And what he doesn’t get, he can always make up. Who’s to debate it really? At least he’s more reliable than Oliver Stone.
"Back to the Times’ article, however. It doesn’t speak well for Obama as an executive, chief or even lowly. The atmosphere he has created is, well, downright creepy:"...

Too Few Good Men   "...But from 2001 until now, both the United States and its allies have taken an economy of force approach. There were enough troops to topple the Taliban and then just enough to keep Afghanistan from reverting to Taliban control. There have never been enough forces, however, to defeat them and to stabilize the country. With the addition of 30,000 American troops, there will undoubtedly be progress. But it would be a strategic roll of the dice to expect to win this war by hoping we have "just enough" forces to carry out the campaign successfully." Gary J. Schmitt is a resident scholar and the director of advanced strategic studies at AEI.

Too Few Good Men, Cont. "...But, if the book is even half accurate, and Washington Post and New York Times accounts of the book's content are on the mark, then the president is a far more feckless chief executive than any of his most ardent critics could ever have imagined."