If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Recent history and the current intelligence on the ground supports the conclusion that the risks are just too great. After over a decade of war overseas, now is not the time to arm an unorganized, unfamiliar, and unpredictable group of rebels.
With what we know (and of course, from American actions in the past), it seems that the American government is OK with supporting terrorists. How much of a stretch is it to believe they may support groups who use chemical weapons?
The issues surrounding political change in Syria are multifaceted and much more intricate than is being reported in the western media, yet the conflict continues to be painted in simplistic black and white terms.
What worries me about programs like the NSA's PRISM is that human judgment comes into play too far down the line. Vast computers are collecting electronic communications data, and, by extension, data on people, and it is possible that millions of those people are law-abiding Americans.
"We shouldn't be surprised that a government establishment that is not being held accountable or in check by any other institution, that is Byzantine in size, structure and purpose, and that receives 25 percent of all government funding is overreaching."
The prosecution of Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks' source inside the U.S. Army, will be pulling out all the stops when it calls to the stand a member of Navy SEAL Team 6, the unit that assassinated Osama bin Laden.
Two bruising wars have left America bankrupt and its military enervated. While our footprint might intoxicate Washington's elite and the military brass, our recent failures call into question whether America has over-extended itself.
While the Saudis are delighted to see Iran's top ally facing a potentially existential threat, Riyadh would be wise to recognize that Iran's loss might not necessarily advance the Saudis' longer term interests in the Middle East.
As national security advisor, she doesn't have to be a natural diplomat with a gift of politesse. She has to be smart, analytical, articulate, and hard-working. And she has to have the confidence of the president. Which she clearly does.
When the deceptive operation of the warfare state can't stand the light of day, truth-tellers are a constant hazard. And culpability must stay turned on its head.
The Obama administration recently lifted its veil of secrecy about its drone usage by providing a substantial amount of information for the first time to a public audience about the program.
While "bad guys kill bad guys" in Syria, millions of innocents suffer. The United States and other Western nations seem to feel that their choice is to fight or to watch. Neither is acceptable, and so new efforts should be devoted to working more with the public than with politicians.
Al-Qaeda made war rather than let Muslim communities survive, and mainstream Muslims must accept this challenge rather than let the union of God's religions break up and let extremists define Islam.
If a U.S. senator can unwittingly pose for pictures with terrorists in Syria, how can we guarantee that the arms McCain supports sending there won't also end up in the same place McCain did -- with terrorists?
We take for granted a loss of privacy for all manner of data generated by our connection to, and use of, the internet. But government's access, on a secret basis, to the content of my communications -- that is a difference in kind that is exponentially more "chilling."
President Obama speech at the National Defense University does not mark the end of the struggle against terrorism, but rather puts new emphasis on remedying the discontent that nurtures extremism.
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