Sat in on Richard Holbrooke’s reemergence in Washington last night at CFR. This is what he said. He said that U.S. aid in the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill was designed to assist the Pakistanis with “large projects” in sectors like energy, water, education and health care. “My own personal view is we ought to increase the aid [...]

This is a seriously great piece of journalism by Justin Elliott for TPM. Long story short: the FBI kept a file on the eminent historian John Hope Franklin, as it did in the Hoover era on many liberal and black Americans for the crimes of being liberal or black or both. It’s only a bit [...]

This list — man. Lots of bricks. But what a comment thread! Also, just because not enough people will read this bit of Attackerlady brilliance if it remains buried in the Awl’s comments: In a post-Jersey Shore world, the lady said, Allison Mosshart must be renamed NoWOWW. (Explanation part one and part two.)

That was one wild Warren Olney show. Walid Phares made some sensible points, but he is under the impression that it’s a step back for the Obama administration to stop using the word “jihadi” and, if I understood him correctly, thinks that Obama is not sufficiently discussing the connection between Islam, or certain forms of [...]

Was on a background conference call about the plan to transfer detainees from Guantanamo to Thomson. Wrote it up. Here’s what I got: The facility will be for a “limited number” of detainees, a senior administration official told reporters, for those “who would face trial [in] military commissions.” A different official clarified that “I think [...]

Not the biggest St. Etienne fan, but I like this one. Anyway, Warren is having me on to talk American Muslims, radicalization, the implications for al-Qaeda, Obama’s portrayal of the domestic threat, and this piece. Take a listen if you can.

I have to say I get tired of arguments like this one from Nancy Scola at Tapped: But were Monsanto to disappear, problems in the American agricultural system wouldn’t necessarily follow. The American agricultural landscape is only a distant cousin of what it was only a few decades ago. What we’re left gawking at now [...]

A Marine gunnery sergeant writes to Tom Ricks with some do’s-n-don’t of how you go about asking Afghans for information. This is, as the man said, good counterinsurgency stuff right here: Couple examples: Most common: Peace be upon you. What’s your name? What’s your tribe? Is that your house? How old are you? Have you [...]

My old TPM colleague and friend Greg Sargent at WhoRunsGov kindly asked me if I would contribute a list of five Power Picks — yeah, I’m a power player, you heard me — for their “Who Runs The War” wiki-feature. I figured I’d highlight some lesser-known-but-crucial figures for the implementation of the strategy after I [...]

The war tax may be dead for the moment and Josh Rogin may chide me for my inability to get over it, but via Starbuck, I see this amazing cartoon from 1943 about one’s patriotic duty to pay taxes to fund the wars the country decides must be fought. “I can’t believe it takes Disney [...]