President Obama delivered an address Tuesday night to mark the end of U.S. combat operations in Iraq. While the speech featured no surprises, it is memorable both for its tone and for what was not said. The change of status in Iraq, however, may not be a harbinger for course correction in the United States. Every elected [...]
Posts under ‘National Security and Defense’
Could Afghanistan Become Obama’s Iraq?
As we well know, the Iraq war contributed substantially to former President George W. Bush’s popularity free fall. Could similar circumstances in Afghanistan contribute to a similar drop for President Obama? Soren Dayton via Twitter brought my attention to a piece that quotes the following from a McClatchy report: WASHINGTON – The prospect that U.S. [...]
Reciprocity initiative vote reveals problems going forward.
For the second time in the first six months of the Barack Obama administration, Republicans have lost a crucial vote in Congress resulting from an inability to hold the whole caucus in each chamber together. The cap and tax trade bill last month passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a mere seven votes; had all House [...]
Elections in Iran Likely to Change Little.
Many on the Left and Right alike in the United States await the defeat of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian presidential election which occurred Friday. So far, both sides have claimed victory, but the record turnout might favor a former prime minister there, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the main challenger. The last refomer to hold the Iranian [...]
Rethinking the Cybersecurity Czar
I initially supported President Obama’s decision to create a cybersecurity czar position. Before, the work had been done by the Department of Homeland Security, but internal wrangling over territory proved it ineffective. Private networks could be secured under their jurisdiction, but security for public infrastructure was held on to tooth and nail by the NSA. [...]
The Afghan Counter-Terror Plan and Republican Messaging
Traditionally, citizens have higher trust in Democrats to handle the economy and in Republicans to handle foreign policy and social issues, according to polls. So with every day of isolated bounces in the Dow or one-day bursts of home purchases being turned into week-long stories on a supposed recovery, we may need to come to [...]