October 11, 2016

Hillary and the missing intelligence surge

When Hillary Clinton said said, “I have proposed an intelligence surge,” how many reporters immediately reminded her of three little letters: INR, the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research? Was there even one journa...

August 5, 2008

JaMarcus Obama

And with the number one pick in this year's NFL draft... JaMarcus Russell.Who may turn out to be worth his $60 million contract. But maybe not. Sort of like electing Barack Obama and hoping he doesn't turn out to be a Ryan Leif. Or Tim Couch. Or Davi...

July 29, 2008

Did I Mention That I'm Noble?

Is it 297 or 643 times we've heard Barack Obama toot: "I turned down more lucrative jobs and went to work for a group of churches"? As the Church Lady herself remarked: "Well, isn't that special?" Young Obama nobly sets forth in 1...

July 21, 2008

Let Me Count the Ways

"How do I love thee, Barack Obama?" his media maids and man-servants coo: "Let me count the ways."1. In your toasted anti-Iraq speech of 2002, you proclaimed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction - but has any of us reminded...

July 14, 2008

Yet Another Obama

Behold Barack doing yet another Obama, this one vintage 2006:But what I know is, Joe Lieberman's a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America. I am absolutely certain that Connecticut's going to have...

December 10, 2007

Play President, Real Threats

So you're sitting in the Oval Office, presidential as can be, and up pops this little flash - and it ain't from the CIA."There is no doubt in my mind that Iraq has a much stronger BW [biological weapons] program today than it had in 1990."T...

October 25, 2007

Ambushed By Our Own

Snipers aim for a soldier's heart; congressional leaders aim for the heart of why he serves: Honor, Country, Duty to both. But to congressional leaders, there's no honor in Iraq. There can't be: it's immoral. Illegal. And it's not even their country'...

September 13, 2007

Child's Play In Iraq

"I am reminded of the time I saw my 3-year-old daughter trying and failing to tie her shoes. She got angry. Still, she kept trying."'This is difficult,' she concluded. ‘But I like difficult.'" A child grittier than Congressional ...

September 6, 2007

Testing Congress: The Price

What's in it for us if we leave Iraq now? What would we gain?Not peace. Not in the Middle East. How could Iran not be emboldened, Syria not be more disruptive, Saudi Arabia not counter them both, other Arab nations not leap in, Al Qaeda not bait them...

August 29, 2007

Testing Congress: Tone Deaf

At least twice Al Qaeda leaders massed in Afghanistan but weren't taken out, loss of innocent lives the concern. Now Iraq: Al Qaeda elites ganged with Iraqi terrorists, but Congress says, Halt. Snipers: target Al Qaeda and it alone. Suddenly innocent...

August 22, 2007

Testing Congress: Faith and Face

Bored by playing God, Congress now plays admiral and general. Despite endless complaints about HMOs -- not doctors -- deciding patients' fate, Congress repeats the arrogance, rejecting those putting their lives on the line, working daily with Iraqi t...

August 14, 2007

Testing Congress: General Ignorance

That Congress spurns the 9/11 Commission should be no surprise: it approves every general sent to them then snubs them, too. This may be why:"I don't know of any organization that's going to be successful when the leaders, when it gets too hot, ...

August 10, 2007

Testing Congress on Al Qaeda

A test for the members of Congress. Quick: who wrote the following?"If, for example, Iraq becomes a failed state, it will go to the top of the list of places that are breeding grounds for attacks against Americans at home"?The  9/11 Co...

June 11, 2007

The Chief and The Commandant

The commandant asks that stories tell themselves. He is overruled by those who rule over stories."I never ask you to tell good news stories on our behalf; rather I would just ask that you continue to report objectively. As the fourth estate, you...

March 30, 2007

Honor, Obama, and Honoré

Barack Obama has come to embody a dream of many, a dream of a black president. We all have our dreams, though. Suppose it came down to two - Barack Obama vs. General Russel Honoré, of Hurricane Katrina fame: would it even be close?Soaring the ...

February 17, 2007

Iraq and Curve Ball Carl

Count on Carl Levin to be a cynic; just don't count on him to tell the truth. For example: his "Additional Views" from the 2004 Senate report on pre-war intelligence. He, along with Senators Durbin and Rockefeller, cites Bob Woodward:...

January 26, 2007

Iraq and the Ghost of Johnnie Cochran

It was a wickedly simple strategy. It still is. Killer becomes accuser, cop gets crucified, killer walks.Brentwood the stage then, Baghdad the stage now. But the play is the same.The KillerEvery horror in Iraq today - killing, kidnapping, refugee - w...

November 20, 2006

What Do We Do with the Remains?

Press and politicians have decided Iraq's fate. And so we ask them: What do we do with the remains? Remnants Of Iraq's 13 million aged 19 or less, how many will join Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups as America leaves? One percent is 130,000, half...

November 4, 2006

I Was Also Wondering

Exhausted from covering J—Lo, T.O., Foley—o, and other uh—ohs, will the media ever find time for minor matters? Such as that 8,000 Iraqi soldiers and police — volunteers all — have died in just two years, with 16,000 mor...