The war in Afghanistan; Posts by Max Boot

Max Boot "Boot is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a contributing editor to The Weekly Standard, a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, and a regular contributor to other publications such as The Washington Post and The New York Times.[1] He blogs for Commentary Magazine on its page Contentions.[6] He serves as a consultant to the U.S. military and as a regular lecturer at U.S. military institutions such as the Army War College and the Command and General Staff College.[1]" Wikipedia.

Why We Must Prevail in Afghanistan "I think Packer is exactly right — which is why it’s so important that we prevail in Afghanistan. I believe our current strategy, under the leadership of General Petraeus and backed by what seems to be a freshly committed president, gives us a good chance to do that, notwithstanding the myriad difficulties we face. I will learn more, however, in Afghanistan itself, which is where I am currently headed."

Don’t Let Afghanistan Distract from Iraq "The president should realize that the gains of recent years can still be lost, and that preserving what so many American personnel — military and civilian alike — have sacrificed so much to achieve will require sustained, high-level attention."

In Afghanistan Forever? "Those of us who hoped for some kind of winding down of the longest war in US history will almost certainly be disappointed now. David Petraeus is the real Pope of counter-insurgency and if he decides that he needs more troops and more time and more resources in Afghanistan next year, who is going to be able to gainsay him? That’s Thomas P. Barnett’s shrewd assessment."

Would a Tehran ‘No Fly’ Zone Work?

Pajamas Media "Read your history of Islamic expansionism: within a century of Mohammed’s death, Islam had conquered most of the known world at that time. That is the choice Bush and Cheney clearly recognized. It’s the reality that Obama and the left is in deep denial about."

Giant Cleanup Ship Met with Puny Response from Bureaucrats

Heritage "After our government claimed that we did not need or could not obtain larger ships to skim the Gulf oil spill, a giant-capacity skimming ship has arrived in U.S. waters. Yet our government has us wondering whether it will permit the ship to join the cleanup effort.
"The problem is not simply the Jones Act; it’s also that our Environmental Protection Agency may squelch the ability to use this giant ship."

Ten Russians Accused Of ‘Snooping’

Sweetness and Light  "On Monday in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz called the allegations "the tip of the iceberg" of a conspiracy of Russia’s intelligence service, the SVR, to collect inside U.S. information.
"The Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) is the Soviet Union’s Russia’s primary external intelligence agency. It is the successor of First Chief Directorate (FCD) of the KGB."

Saving Obama From Himself

Victor Davis Hanson "The reality of Barack Obama is that he was an inexperienced community organizer with an undistinguished record as a Senate newcomer. A perfect storm of popular anger at eight years of George Bush, a lackluster John McCain campaign, Obama's landmark candidacy as an African-American, a disingenuous campaign promising centrist and bipartisan governance, and the financial meltdown in 2008 got the relatively untried and unknown Obama elected."

The Dodd-Frank Assault on Economic Recovery

Heritage “The bill, completed early Friday and expected to come up for a final vote this week, is basically a 2,000-page missive to federal agencies, instructing regulators to address subjects ranging from derivatives trading to document retention. But it is notably short on specifics, giving regulators significant power to determine its impact.”

Liberal Democrats. Maybe you like yours, but a Democrat in Congress is a likely "yes" vote for this kind of legislation.

Chip Bok, Townhall

War & Restrepo (Updated)

Blackfive  "The movie Restrepo was stunning.The filmmakers managed to absent themselves from it so completely it was as if you were watching events unfold yourself as a silent observer. Humping up ridiculous mountains, blazing away at elusive enemies who always seemed to have the high ground, dealing with recalcitrant villagers, trying to sort the bad guys from the not quite so bad guys, wondering if you were actually making a difference, wondering if you were gonna make it home. We saw these guys experience all of that and I think almost everyone in the theater had a cold sweat and chills for most of the film."  Uncle Jimbo

Restropo Trailer

Review  "In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan's Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army's deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor."

Contrast those men with others who wish to demonize them:
U.S. Government Needs to Prepare for Coming Leak of Damaging Video  "WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange claims he has a video of an American "massacre" in Afghanistan and is threatening to release thousands of pages of documents that would be ruinous to national security."

Senator Brown Objects

Jennifer Rubin "Scott Brown, who was a critical vote in passing the financial-regulation bill in the Senate, proves he’s as smart as CONTENTIONS readers. He writes a letter to Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd:"

What Will Happen to Byrd’s Senate Seat?

The Caucus blog  "Democrats believe that the filing deadline for November has passed and an interim senator should remain in office through the remainder of Mr. Byrd’s term, which ends on Jan. 3, 2013. But some Republicans believe that West Virginia law provides for a special election to be held in November because more than two and a half years of Mr. Byrd’s Senate term remains."  JEFF ZELENY
Oh, no! Not another court-decided election!

Employment, Environment at Odds

WSJ   "For the second time in recent weeks, the Obama administration's environmental policies have clashed with its efforts to boost American jobs.
"The U.S. Export-Import Bank, a federal body charged with promoting U.S. exports with loan guarantees, decided against backing a sale of coal-mining equipment to an Indian company. The guarantees were denied amid the agency's concerns about the mine's environmental impact."

Disrupt the G-20 Summit With This Technology

Amity Shlaes in Bloomberg: "Consumers may even embrace the product they have famously rejected, the electric car. Better Place LLC, a car battery service start-up, begins with the wager that the old problem of recharging batteries is the big obstacle that stopped consumers from buying electric vehicles before. Using Israel as a test site, Better Place in the next year or so will open 75 stations where electric cars can simply swap an exhausted battery for a new one in the same time it takes to refuel."

Confessions of a smartass

Ethel C. Fenig "As that wise Frenchman, yes a Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville observed over 150 years ago:  "The American Republic will endure, until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money."
"So Joe, I would wager the intelligence of my tush over your often not too wise brain; not to mention your rather dumb uh, glutes."