I haven’t seen the new video by Azzam The American — the al-Qaeda propagandist formerly known as Adam Gadahn. But Leah Farrall watches it and proclaims it a new milestone for al-Qaeda’s descent: I have to say that this video is the worst production I have seen come out of al Qaeda. It’s awful. He [...]

Happy Hannukah everyone! May the story of Hannukah forever inspire our endless resource wars! Speaking of avoiding those resource wars, check out this adorable picture from Sharon Burke’s kid. Burke is a CNASer who’s about to become the Pentagon’s top woman for energy security. She is no fan of resource wars.

Check out some of the signatories to the Israel Project’s new Iran-sanctions petition. Porn Sex Video from London, NY; Comfylovely from Davao, XX; and of course, the neighbor of London NY’s Porn Sex Video, Porn Rape. Seriously. When I called Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, the Israel Project’s founder and president, she told me that the group [...]

I’m going to record a radio interview with Ana Marie Cox that should air soon, so while I’m out, I recommend listening to From The Depths’ “Murderers.” It’s the best crust-metal song I’ve heard all year. Spent the morning listening to it on repeat. This music is not for everyone. But if it’s for you, [...]

I don’t want to be an asshole about this, but I see that the New America Foundation is holding a symposium on Monday about the “Obama Doctrine.” The question at stake for panelists Peter Beinart, David Sanger and Glenn Kessler is this: A year into his presidency, is there an Obama Doctrine–a distinctive vision that [...]

Marc Ambinder makes the elegant point that Gen. McChrystal’s al-Jazeera English interview this week is a rather stunning repudiation of the Rumsfeld Pentagon legacy: The channel’s image was defined by the Arabic version’s defiant and critical coverage of the U.S. invasion of Iraq and for the means by which it used to obtain Osama Bin [...]

I listen when Ahmed Rashid talks, and Rashid says that Obama set the July 2011 “Phase Two” date unilaterally, sparking serious concerns in Afghanistan and Pakistan about the U.S. commitment. I can believe that first part. I’ve heard from allied diplomats, representing countries with troops in Afghanistan, that they had minimal involvement in the Afghanistan-Pakistan [...]

This is a Jeffrey Goldberg post, in its entirety. The headline is “Move Along, Nothing to See Here.” Five young Muslim-Americans wash up in Pakistan on the way to jihad camp. But I can’t imagine this means something: One of the men had left behind an 11-minute video calling for the defense of Muslims in [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 966-09 December 10, 2009 DoD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Staff Sgt. Dennis J. Hansen, 31, of Panama City, Fla., died Dec. 7 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents [...]

I’m not done with this yet. It’s right and good to give emphasis to the “war is an awful reality” aspects of the Nobel acceptance. Obama clearly meant to make this a provocative speech. But don’t ignore how much of a human rights speech this is. And I don’t mean some “human rights as a [...]