Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
If neocons are liberal interventionists on steroids and liberal interventionists are just kinder, gentler neocons, what would US foreign policy have been like if realists had been in charge for the past two decades?
"The United States is a bit like a 375-pound, middle-aged man with a heart condition walking down a city street at night eating a Big Mac. He's afraid he might get mugged. But the thing that's going to kill him is the burger"
Final piece by State Dept whistleblower before he was fired. "We thought that our employers would be concerned about what we had stumbled upon and would want to work with us to resolve it. We are guilty of naiveté, not treason"
US military over-reacts dangerously by declaring Anonymous a threat to national security. Anonymous is not a terrorist group, it is an expression of the spirit of the times, and most of its activities are frivolous or trivial
In the 1960s the US air force was growing increasingly concerned about the safety of pilots forced to eject at high altitude. So it sent one man up 19 miles above the earth to free-fall down. To see if it could be done
Don't leave; transition. "Special operations forces can continue to degrade the leadership of Afghanistan’s insurgent groups on the one hand while providing training and assistance to Afghan government forces on the other hand"
The number of American soldiers and Marines being killed in war is falling, but the number of surviving amputees has been rising. Some are finding a new challenge and camaraderie through golf
On flying a U2 spy plane. Or what happens when technology pushes the human body beyond its limits. Nausea, disorientation, even hallucinations are common. Occasionally a pilot passes out. But the real problems begin after landing
His cover-name is "Roger". He heads the CIA's counter-terrorism operations in Washington, DC. He hunted down Osama Bin Laden. He masterminds drone attacks. He's bad-tempered, in his late 50s, a chain-smoker, and a Muslim (Free reg)
"Before they went off to fight in Afghanistan, the guys of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines talked quietly about their deepest fear. Not dying. Not losing a leg or an arm. It was having their genitals ripped off, burned away or crushed"
US strategy in Afghanistan focuses on training up local security forces to take over. "Many people who know Afghanistan well, however, have warned from the beginning against this plan. I’m among the naysayers, and I’ll tell you why"
Taking apart attorney-general Eric Holder's claim that the US president has the right to order the killing of US citizens, without due process of law, so long as it's part of the war on terror. It's official. But is it right?
Lessons from 9/11. "Two broad oceans do not protect us from the tide of history"
Fran Lebowitz, on post-9/11 security
"All you would hear was: 'safety, safety, safety'. I think there is nothing more dangerous than constantly thinking about safety"
