October 23, 2016

Biden threatens violence again; no one cares

V.P. Joe Biden's latest violent rhetoric ("take him [Trump] behind the gym") is fascinating on a number of different levels. One, there have been constant assertions that Trump and his rhetoric lead people to violence.  Yet Bide...

November 28, 2009

Our Iran policy is a failure by any objective measure

Barely a year into his Presidency many historians (not press reporters, not political followers) will declare Iran as this administration’s major foreign policy failure. To recap, since President Obama took office Iran has: Continued to ambi...

August 4, 2009

GOP upset victory in Delaware special election (updated)

Roughly one month ago Delaware State Senator (Senator President Pro Tem as well) Thurman Adams (D) died at the age of 80 from a bout with pancreatic cancer. There was a special election yesterday and the two front runners were Joe Booth (R) and Polly...

May 7, 2009

Obama, Israel, and Iran

Obama, Israel, and IranI read James Lewis' article "Why attacking Iran may be morally and militarily necessary" with great interest. While I am not entirely convinced of his argument, it is cogently presented and certainly within the realm ...

November 28, 2008

Sources and bias

I see that the New York Times is able to dig up “secret” files about Czech President Vaclav Klaus activities from the 1980’s when he is about to ascend to the Presidency of the EU. However, when it comes to the running for the Presi...

September 17, 2008

US Embassy in Yemen Attacked (updated)

Initial press reports indicate the United States Embassy attack in Sanaaa, Yemen was led by 6 individuals -- one using a suicide belt while other used Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs). There were also indications that snipers from adjoining buildings...

September 10, 2008

Democrats: Practice What You Preach

I read a series of articles quoting various Democrats (including The Chosen One) reacting to President Bush's proposed plan to drawdown troops stationed in Iraq. The essence of these comments was eloquently put by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI). He stated ...

February 14, 2008

Mughniyah's Assasination

When the news reported that Imad Mughniyah was assassinated I was stunned. This is equivalent to killing Bin Laden. Except that locating and successfully executing an attack on "Mughsy" was a much more difficult task. To say he had a height...

December 22, 2007

Iran's threat to Bahrain

Yesterday, Ed Lasky commented on Iran's threat to Bahrain"Iran is now an imperial power whose desire is to extend its hegemony across the region. We have seen it flex its muscle throughout area: in Lebanon, where it has sent weapons, personnel, ...

December 7, 2007

The Iran NIE: A Template of Analysis?

After reading the Iran NIE and many of the related articles, there are a few fundamental issues that have not been raised. Let's begin with the "money quote" used by the New York Times to indicate that Iran has stopped pursuing its nuclear ...

November 29, 2007

Iran's Strategy and Application of Force

While the Bush Administration clearly asserts that a nuclear armed Iran is not in the national security interests of the United States, the fractious political environment in Washington is blunting the effectiveness of that message. Iran sees a ...

September 19, 2007

Why Iraq Matters to Me

During the last few weeks there has been a visceral discussion about the US's prospects in Iraq. Much of it has centered on assertions that President's surge plan and Iraq policies are a failure and the Iraqi government has failed to deliver on goals...