At this point, after it was caught completely unawares by ISIS's move against Mosul and on toward Baghdad and before that was totally surprised by Russia's move into Crimea, should we start being worried about the capabilities of the US intelligence community? That's the question Shane Harris is asking at Foreign Policy. The problem is … Continue reading Is there a problem in the US intelligence community?

Now we come to the subject of blame. Who lost Mosul? Naturally, this being a day ending in the letter "y," you've got the folks who are blaming Obama, because he's been "indifferent" to Iraq, and because he foolishly convinced Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to let American forces leave Iraq despite the fact that … Continue reading What’s happening in Iraq, part 2: whose fault is it?

Alright, so, Iraq. Hoo-boy. I briefly touched on this situation the other day, when my reserves of brain power were at a definite ebb, and, while I'm not sure they're in much better shape now, the situation in Iraq is spiraling out of control, and I wouldn't be very good at this foreign policy blogging … Continue reading Let’s try (and fail) to figure out what the hell is happening in Iraq, OK?

I don't really have the brain power left right now to write anything interesting about this, but there was absolutely huge news out of Iraq today when fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) seized control of Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city and the capital of the northern Nineveh Province. The Iraqi government … Continue reading Iraq is falling apart, even more so than usual

So, remember the whole "Happy" video mess in Iran a couple of weeks ago? Well, all the folks who were involved in shooting the video are out of custody now, but the controversy seems to have opened some festering sores in the relationship between Hassan Rouhani and Iran's conservative religious establishment. Rouhani has, quietly, made … Continue reading Iran’s debate on the path to Heaven

Say, what's Eric Holder been up to lately? In reality, Holder’s task force will undoubtedly focus on the Obama administration’s political enemies, mainly returning military veterans, conservatives and those who identify with the Tea Party. Such groups have been increasingly linked to terrorism by multiple federal agencies. Geez, that sounds bad. Why would right-wing "homegrown" … Continue reading I wonder where they’d get an idea like that from?

From The Guardian, via Gawker: An 89-year-old veteran reported missing from a nursing home was found in France marking the anniversary of the D-day landings. The pensioner, who left wearing his war medals, has contacted the home and said his friends are going to make sure he gets back safely when the commemorations end. Sussex … Continue reading Today’s best D-Day anniversary story

Terrorism is back on everybody's mind it seems, with the number Salafi terror groups and terrorist acts on a sharp upward trajectory and with the number of "Al-Qaeda affiliates" (an incredibly loose term that can mean anything from "we take direct orders from Ayman al-Zawahiri himself" to "we train with Al-Qaeda dudes every once in … Continue reading Thinking about the “War on Terror,” at LobeLog

Hey. Hi. How are you? What, me? Anything new? Well, you know, nothing big. I mean, I did get cited by the big-time media for my insightful deeply silly writing retweeting of ridiculous conservatives, if you're into that sort of thing: Majority.fm's Matt Binder and LobeLog contributor Derek Davison noticed something funny: just before Bergdahl was released, … Continue reading More on Bergdahl, including my brush with the big time