President Biden’s decision to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan by September 11 may turn out to be one of the more significant decisions of… Read More »Blog No. 287. Afghanistan and the Coming Debacle
On June 10, the outlines of the Barr Witch Hunt became a bit clearer. Its broad parameters were described in a letter from Assistant Attorney… Read More »Blog No. 223. Bill Barr: The AG as Chief Witch Hunter (Part II)
It was probably inevitable that the hearing before the House Intelligence Committee would leave many, indeed most, questions unanswered. Indeed, far too much time was… Read More »Blog No. 133. The Committee, Trump and Comey: The Unasked Question, Other Puzzlements and Waiting For More Shoes To Drop
Few will mourn the passing of the 113th Congress. Senator Joe Manchin no doubt spoke for many when he said “Thank God! It’s over.” Still, Congress ended not as some expected, with only the whimper of lame ducks, but with a pair of modest bangs. The first bang was the release by a Senate Committee of its long-awaited (and in some cases, perhaps, dreaded) report on the interrogation techniques employed by the CIA following 9/11. The other bang was provided by the passage of a $1.1 trillion spending bill over opposition from the more extreme elements of both parties. Further bangs will doubtless come in the next Congress, but what they will turn out to be remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, we offer some thoughts on the work of Congress in the final weeks of 2014.Read More »Blog No. 55 The 113th Congress RIP (With Reflections on the CIA and the Omnibus Spending Bill)
Drone Strikes. President Obama’s May 23 speech announced new criteria for drone strikes. Although the previous criteria had not been disclosed, he made it clear that the new criteria were significantly narrower. According to the President, a targeted terrorist must now pose “a continuing and imminent threat to the American people,” and “before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured.” Taken literally and applied conscientiously, those are narrow criteria indeed. But as The New York Times reported, “Even as [Obama] set new standards, a debate broke out about what they actually meant and what would actually change.” Read More »Blog No. 5 Whither the War on Terror? Part II. Of Drones and Guantanamo