War

Forever War

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….

Via Time for America to Abandon Afghanistan @ Cato.org.

The Drone Papers

The Intercept has obtained a cache of secret documents detailing the inner workings of the U.S. military’s assassination program in Afghanistan, Yemen, and Somalia. The documents, provided by a whistleblower, offer an unprecedented glimpse into Obama’s drone wars….

Via The Drone Papers @ The Intercept.

Betcha can’t start just one…

“Apparently, 74 different wars aren’t enough. Word from a senior non-U.S. NATO official to NSA analyst John Schindler is: “We’ll probably be at war this summer. If we’re lucky it won’t be nuclear.” So said Schindler in a tweet last week.” Via Why is Washington picking a new fight? @ Personal Liberty.

Paying to defend those who won’t even defend themselves

“The most significant thing about Secretary Carter’s comments, though, are the extent to which they have demonstrated that notwithstanding months and months in which the Administration and the Pentagon have asserted that the combination of American air strikes and Iraqi military action was degrading ISIS’s position, the fact is that ISIS is apparently as strong…

More war, less debate

“…. the House majority slipped into the military spending bill an extra $89 billion for an emergency war fund. Such “emergency” spending is not addressed in the growth caps placed on the military under the 2011 budget control act. It is a loophole filled by Congress with Fed-printed money. Ironically, a good deal of this…

McCain on the CIA Torture Report

Goodness knows libertarians have had countless differences with Sen. John McCain, on domestic and foreign policy.  We could have no disagreement, however, with his condemnation of the CIA’s use of torture for interrogation of America’s enemies.  Our politics – including the acknowledgment of our own ethical failures -should be of the highest standards.  To use…