Adam Serwer goes after Ground Zero Mosque opponent and general-purpose blogospheric Islamophobic bigot Robert Spencer. This is the sort of takedown that should be taught in journalism school. No category error goes unchallenged. No misrepresentation goes unaddressed. No error of context or commission or omission goes unpunished. I’m just proud to be the guy’s friend. [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 491-10 June 14, 2010 DOD Identifies Army Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Spc. Christian M. Adams, 26, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., died June 11 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to [...]

So reports the Independent: The key, he said, was an agreement to change from a situation in which Israel operates a limited list of permitted goods allowed through border crossings into Gaza, to a prohibited list of goods – weapons and “combat material” – which are not. “After my talks (with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin [...]

Right now I am trying to call into a Pentagon conference call about the Afghanistan mineral wealth “discovery.” The Afghan government apparently is talking about getting bids going within six months. Accelerating bidding on mineral wealth: exactly what you want to see in a corruption-plagued country. What could go wrong? One quick thought while I [...]

Something that I keep forgetting to mention: on June 1, Charlie Dunlap, an intellectual leader in the Air Force, retired from three decades of public service at the rank of major general. Starting next month, he’ll join the Duke faculty teaching national-security law, as per his expertise in the Air Force’s Judge Advocate Corps. It [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 488-10 June 14, 2010 DOD Identifies Army Casualties The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died June 11 at Forward Operating Base Bullard, Afghanistan, from wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to [...]

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 486-10 June 11, 2010 DOD Identifies Marine Casualty The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Lance Cpl. Gavin R. Brummund, 22, of Arnold, Calif., died June 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th [...]

On Saturday, my friends Megan McArdle and Peter Suderman got married, and I was privileged to attend their wedding. Making things even better, lots of my friends and colleagues and acquaintances also attended, which meant that the McSudleman union was one of those rare weddings that turned out to be a lot of fun. TPM’s [...]

Speaking of the reconciliation/governance options before the Afghan government, don’t miss Thomas Ruttig’s Q&A at Foreign Policy. This point is worth highlighting: I find the differentiation into “reintegration” (of low and mid-level Taliban) and “reconciliation” (talk to leaders who break their ties with al-Qaida) is artificial and not up to the realities. The Taliban have [...]

Hamid Karzai’s trip to Kandahar to herald the “process” for securing the city that he, President Obama and Gen. McChrystal agreed to publicly in Washington places some doubt around Friday’s Times piece about Karzai seeking a peace-at-any-price deal with the Taliban. “This operation requires sacrifice, and without sacrifice you cannot restore peace to Kandahar,” Mr. [...]