Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Commentary. Show all posts

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Top Military/Defense/National Security/International News Stories For 2012


Top 10 Security Clearance Stories Of 2012 -- CNN

2012 has been a busy year at Security Clearance. From the U.S. diplomatic facility attack in Benghazi, Libya to the Petraeus sex scandal to the future of Afghanistan and the Pentagon preparing(or not) to fall off the fiscal cliff.

But there have been numerous other stories that have caught your eye this year.

Top 10 Security Clearance stories you, the readers, made the most popular in 2012:

Read more
....

My Comment:
What are my top ten stories .... in no particular order:

1) Sequestration .... it's impact on the U.S. defense budget
2) Civil war in Syria
3) Afghanistan
4) The Petraeus scandal
5) Benghazi consulate attack
6) Euro crisis
7) China's border disputes with it's neighbors
8) The growth of China's military
9) The growth of Al Qaeda and militant Islamic groups in Africa, and the proliferation of wars and internal conflicts in Africa.
10) The expanding U.S. involvement in global/regional conflicts and counter-terrorism operations.

Monday, January 3, 2011

A Year In Review From Dave Barry (Humor)


Dave Barry’s 2010 Year In Review -- Dave Barry, Miami Herald

Let's face it -- 2010 was a disaster. A month-by-month reminder of just how awful it was.

Let’s put things into perspective: 2010 was not the worst year ever. There have been MUCH worse years. For example, toward the end of the Cretaceous Period, the Earth was struck by an asteroid that wiped out 75 percent of all the species on the planet. Can we honestly say that we had a worse year than those species did? Yes we can, because they were not exposed to Jersey Shore.

So on second thought we see that this was, in fact, the worst year ever. The perfect symbol for the awfulness of 2010 was the BP oil spill, which oozed up from the depths and spread, totally out of control, like some kind of hideous uncontrollable metaphor.

Read more ....

My Comment: I have been feeling miserable and under the weather for so long .... but reading this post just puts a smile to my face. We all need a break once in a while, and Dave Barry provides a good break right now.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

News Coverage Of Lindsay Lohan And The U.S. Marines


From Theo Spark:

Lindsay Lohan,24, gets her name and face all over the news because she went to jail.

Justin Allen, 23,
Brett Linley, 29,
Matthew Weikert, 29,
Justus Bartett, 27,
Dave Santos, 21,
Chase Stanley, 21,
Jesse Reed, 26,
Matthew Johnson, 21,
Zachary Fisher, 24,
Brandon King, 23,
Christopher Goeke, 23,
and Sheldon Tate, 27,

.... are all Marines who gave their lives for you this week.

Semper Fi.

My Comment: Yup .... Theo Spark puts everything into perspective.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

This Puts Everything Into Perspective



From Theo Spark:

Two planes landed in England the other day :

One carried a group of over paid, under achievers who complained that they were tired and missed their families after two weeks in five star accommodations.

The other carried the coffins of 7 fallen soldiers who had spent months away from their loved ones, living in tents in a war zone & giving their lives for their country.

Who are the Hero’s??

Read more ....

My Comment: How very true.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Best Allies Money Can Buy -- The Growth Of Private Contractors In War Zones


From Thomas L. Friedman/The New York Times:

In 2003, I was on a trip to Iraq and had arranged an appointment in the Green Zone with a member of the then-Iraqi Governing Council. Security was tight. I was with my Iraqi translator, a middle-aged man who had once been a teacher. When we arrived at the council, after a long walk, I showed my ID to two young uniformed U.S. soldiers. They told me to wait, went inside and out came a man wearing civilian clothes, one of those fishing vests and an Australian bush hat.

Read more ....

My Comment: Are Iraq and Afghanistan our nation's first "contractor wars" ..... with 57% of the work that is needed to be done in Afghanistan being contracted out .... I would have to say YES.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Two Commentaries/Opinions That Will Stand Out In The News Today

Lockerbie Bombing

A Catalogue Of Errors That Shames The UK -- David Cameroon

After the bizarre release of al-Megrahi, the British public have been left disgracefully in the dark.

Twelve days ago, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi was released by the Scottish government. His freedom came two decades after a bomb, which was smuggled on to Pan Am Flight 103, exploded over Lockerbie, killing 11 people on the ground and 259 people on the plane. The only man convicted of the crime, al-Megrahi spent just eight years in prison — less than a fortnight for each victim — and was welcomed back to Tripoli as a returning hero.

Read more ....

Time to Get Out of Afghanistan -- George Will

"Yesterday," reads the e-mail from Allen, a Marine in Afghanistan, "I gave blood because a Marine, while out on patrol, stepped on a [mine's] pressure plate and lost both legs." Then "another Marine with a bullet wound to the head was brought in. Both Marines died this morning."

"I'm sorry about the drama," writes Allen, an enthusiastic infantryman willing to die "so that each of you may grow old." He says: "I put everything in God's hands." And: "Semper Fi!"

Allen and others of America's finest are also in Washington's hands. This city should keep faith with them by rapidly reversing the trajectory of America's involvement in Afghanistan, where, says the Dutch commander of coalition forces in a southern province, walking through the region is "like walking through the Old Testament."

Read more ....

My Comment: I usually browse through 20 - 30 commentaries and editorials everyday (exception is Sunday). Many I agree with .... many of disagree with. This morning, I came across two commentaries in which the authors took a considerable amount of time and passion to write. They are stating exactly what this blog has been saying for a long time .... but written much better than what I am capable of.

David Cameroon will be the next PM of Britain .... and he writes like one. George Will has always been respected within the conservative intelligentsia .... his commentary is contrary to their accepted dogma on what should be done in Afghanistan. It will have an impact to make them realize that Afghanistan is a lost cause, and hence lay the groundwork for the political right to accept a withdrawal from that wretched country.

Two short and well written pieces .... they are must reads today.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Opinions, Commentaries, And Editorials -- February 8, 2009

POWER SHIFT The war ended dictatorship in Iraq, which recently held elections. But it also left a regional vacuum. Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

An Opening to Iran? -- Middle East Forum
Iran: Still Haunted by Bloody Past -- Robert Fisk, The Independent
Iran Looks Hostile -- Daily Telegraph editorial
Why the Muslim World Can’t Hear Obama -- New York Times opinion
Iraq's Mandate for Stability -- Rocky Mountain News
Deja vu in Kabul -- Max Boot, Los Angeles Times opinion
A Russia Reality Check -- Fred Hiatt, Washington Post
Israel Is Not a Banana Republic -- Yoram Ettinger, Ynet News
Croatia: The Balkan Basket Case -- Jeffery Kuhner, Washington Times
Avoiding Disaster in Afghanistan -- Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
What Japan Got Right -- Edward Lincoln, Newsweek
Cheney's Blind Spot -- Washington Post editorial
Would Panetta Object to Aggressive Interrogation? -- Wall Street Journal editorial
Torture on Trial? -- Los Angeles Times editorial
Speaking With the Enemy -- New York Times opinion
Defense Spending: An Indefensible Omission -- Washington Post opinion
Foreign Spies Are Serious. Are We? -- Washington Post opinion
US,Mexico Border: The Twilight Zone -- Washington Post opinion
U.S.-Mexico Border is Under Siege -- Tom Miller, Washington Post
Our Brave New World -- Victor Davis Hanson, Pajamas Media

Monday, January 26, 2009

Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials For January 26, 2009


RUSSIA
Russia's Hard Bargain -- M K Bhadrakumar, Asia Times
Six Months Later, A Different Georgia -- Jonathan Steele, The Guardian
Russia: America's Favorite Bogeyman -- Nina Khrushcheva, Moscow Times
Human Rights Murders in Russia -- Dmitry Sidorov, Forbes
How to Improve U.S.-Russia Ties -- Alexandra Vacroux , CS Monitor

CHINA
The Chinese Model Has Failed -- John Lee, The Australian
Calling China's Bluff -- Gregory Chin & Eric Helleiner, Foreign Policy
Year of Ox Looks Ominous for Chinese -- John Lee, The Times
Geithner Wrong on China Trade -- Bret Swanson, Wall Street Journal
China's Obama Censorship -- James Fallows, The Atlantic
Sino-US War of Words over Economics -- The Economist

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND AFGHANISTAN
Obama's Afghan Trap -- Nikolas Gvosdev, National Interest
Obama's Afghan Challenge -- Washington Times
Afghanistan: Obama's Vietnam? -- Jeffrey Kuhner, Washington Times

GENERAL
Torture Weakened America's National Security -- Sen. John Kerry, CNN
Moderating the War on Terror -- Steve Chapman, Chicago Tribune
Do We Really Want Detainees on American Soil? -- Andrew Levy, Forbes
Will Pakistan & Afghanistan Be Obama's Vietnam? -- Juan Cole, Salon
Drug Gangs Have Mexico on the Ropes -- Wall Street Journal
Iran's Nuclear Adventurism -- Times of London editorial
Hey Obama, What About North Korea? -- Donald Kirk, Asia Times
Warning from the Saudis -- Financial Times Editorial