As you’ve heard by now, a cohort of Guantanamo detainees will make their way to Illinois’ Thomson Correctional Center. (I say “cohort” because the statement Christina Bellantoni collects from an anonymous administration official refers to “a limited number of detainees from Guantanamo Bay,” not everyone who’s left there. Presumably the announcement later today will clarify [...]

Two young Pakistani-Americans were sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for, as AFP puts it, “conspiring to support terror groups by videoing US landmarks and sending the tapes abroad.” I have no idea about any other aspects of the case, and so for purposes of this post, I’ll assume everything is correct as reported. But this [...]

I don’t write about health care, but I have an interest in standing up when my friends are attacked. As it is with Charles Lane’s intemperate and idiotic attack on my good friend Ezra Klein. But I don’t need to pretend to have the understanding of health care that, say, the FDL readership does, because [...]

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pvt. Jhanner A. Tello, 29, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Dec. 10 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 3rd Aviation Support Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry [...]

But Mr. Malinowski, who spoke by telephone from Tripoli, Libya, said he thought Mr. Obama’s Nobel speech was “one of the strongest and most thoughtful statements about human rights that any U.S. president has given.” “It didn’t back away from the administration’s commitment to reaching out diplomatically to its adversaries but at same time acknowledged [...]

The Awl reports that today is the 30th anniversary of the greatest rock and roll album ever created. I won’t belabor the point. London Calling is the most meaningful piece of music I have ever encountered, and yes, meaning is invested in music by the listener. When I was younger I had a theory that [...]

I’ve never come across the blog Men With Pens before, but now we learn something disgusting that won’t shock anyone who works in journalism who thinks for a minute. The MWP blogger, James, was barely getting by as a freelance writer. About $8 per week. Kids to feed, welfare application looming, bills piling up. Snark [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 974-09 December 14, 2009 DOD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pfc. Jaiciae L. Pauley, 29, of Austell, Ga., died Dec. 11 in Kirkuk, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the [...]

As I mentioned before, there’s a kicker quote in my piece today that cries out for further analysis: “Al-Qaeda’s are capabilities basically almost nothing these days,” the ex-official said. “Sure, they’ve got a couple good operatives, and maybe will try to pull something big to make themselves relevant again … If we make them appear [...]

Shadi Hamid has a rather different reaction to Tony Blair’s Iraq cynicism than I did. “I think it’s undoubtebly true that Iraq – and the Middle East – is better off now than it was under Saddam and than it would have been had Saddam not been removed from power.” There’s nothing “undoubtedly true” about [...]