Word came this afternoon that the Obama administration has decided to send 300 US soldiers and unarmed Predator drones to the central African nation of Cameroon, to assist a multi-national effort to defeat Boko Haram, based in neighboring Nigeria. Their mission will be to provide reconnaissance and intel for the multi-national force, which consists of … Continue reading Next stop: Cameroon

https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/654114071336189952 You know who I really wouldn't trust with my Labrador? It's actually a funny story: Welcome to Loser Sons of Politics, a new column where the politically minded among the Jezebel staff recall with fondness the antics of the loser sons of politicians. Today (because it’s a very big and special day for the former … Continue reading Say, you know what that reminds me of?

On Sunday, the Iraqi government declared that its air force had struck a convoy carrying Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to a big Legion of Doom ISIS meet-up in western Iraq, but that turned out to have been a bit of a false alarm. Baghdadi was probably never in the convoy. Oh well, it's not the first … Continue reading A false alarm and a confirmed kill

Full confession: I didn't watch much of the debate last night, because, well, frankly I didn't want to. I watched the Penguins suck again, which in hindsight was the wrong choice, and then I tuned in to the debate towards the end. So apart from now being very aware that Jim Webb once killed a … Continue reading The difference that 8 years (and one career change) can make

Iran's parliament approved the nuclear deal today, an outcome that was really never in doubt despite whatever kvetching you may have heard coming out of Tehran in recent weeks. That's the good news. The very bad news is that Iranian media announced yesterday that imprisoned Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was convicted of...well, whatever it … Continue reading Paying the price for the nuclear deal

The Republican National Committee issued a press release today that questions Hillary Clinton's judgment in part because...she voted in favor of the Iraq War. The press release mostly criticizes her for voting against the surge and supporting the US troop withdrawal in 2011, arguing that she was cowed by the political fallout from that 2002 … Continue reading RNC goes full post-parody

Of all the things that happened over the weekend, while I was away, I suspect the most consequential, at least in the short-term, was the horrific terrorist attack on a largely Kurdish peace rally in Ankara on Saturday. The twin suicide bombings killed at least 95 people and wounded another 246. It's being called (and, … Continue reading Turkey tries to move on after Ankara

Today is the traditional anniversary of the Battle of Tours (732), which either saved the Christian world as we know it or interrupted a small Arab-Berber raiding party from getting deeper into France, depending on your point of view. I'd have written a big thing about it for today, but here's the thing: I'm traveling, … Continue reading October 10 and the problem with “this day in history”