Advisers? Donald Trump doesn’t need no stinkin’ advisers.
Via Donald Trump’s Favorite Foreign Policy Adviser Is….. Donald Trump @ Outside the Beltway.
Advisers? Donald Trump doesn’t need no stinkin’ advisers.
Via Donald Trump’s Favorite Foreign Policy Adviser Is….. Donald Trump @ Outside the Beltway.
Understatement –
There Is Not Enough Scrutiny of America’s Wars @ Cato Institute.
President Bush started the drone wars, but Mr. Obama vastly expanded them. Almost entirely on his watch, United States strikes have killed as many as 5,000 people, possibly 1,000 of them civilians. The president approved strikes in places far from combat zones. He authorized the C.I.A. to carry out “signature strikes” aimed at people whose identities the agency did not know but whose activities supposedly suggested militancy….
Via The Next President’s Drone War @ American Civil Liberties Union.
“Obviously, the war in Iraq was a big, fat mistake,” Trump declares during GOP debate.
The Presidential Candidate Intervention Meter is based on an analysis of proposals made by the candidates between August and December 14, 2015. It scores each proposal for the use of force according to how expansive, expensive, or entangling it is.
Via The 2016 Presidential Candidate Intervention Meter | Cato @ Liberty
Featuring the authors Ted Galen Carpenter, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; and Malou Innocent, Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute; with comments by Andrew J. Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of History and International Relations, Boston University; and Jacob Heilbrunn, Editor, The National Interest; moderated byChristopher Preble, Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute.
Experts and pundits were stunned last week when Taliban forces overran most of the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Although government troops appear to have retaken portions of the city, they were able to do so only with substantial assistance from the U.S. combat units that are still in the country. Now General John Campbell, the U.S. commander, is urging President Obama to delay the planned withdrawal of the remaining 9,800 U.S. troops and to retain a permanent garrison that is much larger than the president’s plan for 1,000 military personnel. If President Obama unwisely complies with that request, Afghanistan will be on its way to being a permanent nation-building quagmire for Washington….
Congress may consider the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report as early as this week. Sadly, but not surprisingly, this year’s NDAA increases spending by “hiding” $38 billion in the Overseas Contingency Operations Fund (OCO). Since OCO spending is considered “emergency spending,” these funds do not count against the budget caps. So OCO enables the defense hawks to increase defense spending while pretending to be complying with the law.
Campaign for Liberty has joined a coalition of groups across the political spectrum in a letter urging members of Congress to vote against the NDAA because of the OCO funding. Of course, this “stealth” spending increase is far from the only reason to oppose the NDAA. For example,the NDAA authorizes the President’s power of’ “indefinite detention” and authorizes US Military intervention around the world.
Via Campaign for Liberty joins coalition against increasing spending @ Campaign for Liberty.
Fourteen years on –
Taliban Capture Major Afghan City For First Time Since 9/11 @ Outside the Beltway.
US, #Cuba plan to resume mail service and regular commercial flights by the end of the year – http://t.co/NJ4Wt4SMo6 pic.twitter.com/8ez6ObtFyE
— Voice of America (@VOANews) September 18, 2015
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That didn’t last long –
Friendship Between Putin and Xi Becomes Strained as Economies Falter @ The New York Times.
“Hatred of hypocrisy is an emotion that tends to occur throughout very different cultures. U.S. leaders do not help America’s reputation when they profess a commitment to freedom and democracy while they fawn over such allies as thuggish Egyptian dictators and the odious Saudi royal family. Victims of oppression were unlikely to take Washington’s alleged…
“Of course, no one wants the North Koreans to starve. But famine is a self-inflicted disaster. The North has socialized its agriculture and used food to reward political loyalty. Moreover, Pyongyang has devoted scarce resources to nukes, other weapons, and luxuries for the nomenklatura that otherwise could be used to purchase food. Tempting though it…
“First, Millennials perceive the world as significantly less threatening than their elders do, and they view foreign policies to deal with potential threats with much less urgency. Second, Millennials are more supportive of international cooperation than prior generations. Millennials, for example, are far more likely to see China as a partner than a rival and…