learning from the Taliban

RIP George Tiller

lipstick traces from the occupation of Iraq

Small Wars Journal is on Rolling Stone’s hot list

the hiatus is over. Back from Beach Week 2009

Ecocomics has rendered my comic book expertise useless

One traditional safety valve for Pakistan, the eastern regions of Afghanistan, is likely to become less available as the US beefs up its military presence there. In theory, the hammer of US/NATO forces will strike the Taliban, forcing it back against the anvil of Pakistan’s own military presence.

The anvil now seems to be getting a bit worried.

It’s easy to hype the threat in Af-Pak. It is not easy, however, to present it properly while maintaining its importance.

Why conservatives shouldn’t rap

In The Future of Iraq, Part II, Michael Totten has written up a series of interviews he conducted with American officers during his recent trip to Baghdad. “The Future of Iraq” doesn’t emerge as a clear picture. Depending on the officers he’s talking with, it’s a mixed bag of patient perserverance, some pretty grim limitations on the immediately-possible, pride in progress over the past couple of years, and optimism with a heavy dose of realism.