A few weeks ago while showing the Vietnam War Memorial to some out of town visitors, a young man's voice startled me. This ten or twelve year old surveyed the more than 58,000 names on the wall, Including 16 of my Air Force Academy classmates, and asked his dad "did...

This question, posed by General David Petraeus in 2003 during the initial stages of the Iraq invasion, is the key question in Iran today. How will the extraordinary mass protest against the Iranian Presidential announced election outcome end? In a whimper? In a bang?

The short answer is that no...

As a kid I was a Red Sox fan. Still am. I was not quite 12 years old in 1952 when Jimmy Piersall broke in as a rookie outfielder. One of the more inspiring stories of the Red Sox Nation is that of Jimmy Piersall's battle against severe mental illness...

There is some unhappiness with President Obama's plan to end U.S. military involvement in Iraq. But those criticisms are not justified. Let's look at what candidate Obama promised and what he is doing.

During his campaign, President Obama talked repeatedly of removing all combat forces from Iraq in approximately 16...

As Iranians celebrate the 30th anniversary of the return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the start of the Islamic Revolution and the new Obama administration initiates a review of US-Iranian policy, it is timely to sit back and consider how we got here and how we bring change.

For Americans, the...

The conventional wisdom is that veterans lean heavily to Republican candidates. The conventional wisdom was wrong in 2008 and may have to be revised in the future.

Veterans' political leanings have changed over time. During and after WWII, when veterans were drawn from a broader cross section of society, their...

A few days ago, a neighbor knocked on the door. She had seen my "Veterans for Obama" lawn signs and asked a favor. Her son, Ben, had a homework assignment to interview a veteran. I agreed to help and was presented with a shy first grade student. He -- with...

For all the "strum and drang" about Sarah Palin and her qualifications, for all the semantic dispute about whether insight into Russian motives and behavior in Georgia equates to having Russia in sight of the Alaskan shore line, for all the second guessing about whether the Israeli tail should wag...

My trip to Denver for the Democratic Convention seems like a homecoming, stirring memories of my first trip fifty years ago . At that time I was a fresh-faced seventeen year-old entering the US Air Force Academy, then in temporary quarters at Lowrey Air Force Base. For this homecoming, I...

In the American governing process the Vice President has two responsibilities. He presides over the Senate, casting a tie-breaking vote if needed, and he awaits the President's demise or incapacitation. Dull stuff for the most part.

In a presidential campaign, however, the vice presidential nominee plays a far more active...

When first learning to fly, it is important to understand not to "get behind the power curve." This refers to putting yourself in a position, usually at low altitude and nose high, where there is not enough power to recover the aircraft. The only recourse is to lower the nose...

July 19, 2008 will mark the 15th anniversary of the Clinton Administration's announcement of the "Don't Ask. Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy. What is often overlooked is that this policy was supposed to be a way station on the road to full acceptance of homosexuals in the military. Instead, Congress...

I find Jon Soltz's June 30th post "Right On General Clark. Do Not Back Down." both shortsighted and embarrassing. As a strong supporter of Senator Obama and a volunteer with his veterans' effort, I believe that Wes Clark's comments are out of bounds.

Let me be clear, Jon Soltz's...

The Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana primaries are over and the situation has returned to the status quo ante. Senator Obama's leads in selected delegates, popular votes and contests won. The remaining six primaries are unlikely to significantly change this landscape. It is time to consider how to settle on...

There are two major mistakes that can be made in Washington, DC. One is to be caught telling a lie. The other is to be caught telling the truth. Based on recent experience, the second evokes more outrage than the first.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's rendition of her excellent Bosnia...

It's three in the morning. America's children are sleeping soundly. A phone rings in the president's bedroom. The situation room reports a crisis. The president begins to ask questions but suddenly pauses and says "Dear, I have to leave the room, you are not cleared to hear this."

It's three...

As with many codes of conduct, the Uniform code of Military Justice (UCMJ) has a catchall provision to cover miscreant behavior not specifically covered by other provisions. UCMJ Article 133 relates to "Conduct Unbecoming an Officer and a Gentleman," conduct that would reflect unfavorably on the uniform, the service or...

During the last Democratic Presidential Candidate debate in Des Moines the moderator asked Senator Barack Obama how he could be a change agent in foreign policy when so many of his advisors were part of the Bill Clinton administration. Senator Hillary Clinton opined that she would like to hear that...

The "declaration of principles" signed by President Bush and Prime Minister Malaki is designed to not only keep American military forces in Iraq indefinitely but also to ensnare America into Iraqi domestic politics. In short, it confirms our suspicions that the NeoCon wet dream, the "Project for a New American...

Last Fall, Democrats won enough seats to gain majorities in both the House and the Senate. In January, Rep. Nancy Pelosi took over as Speaker of the House and Harry Reid became Majority Leader in the Senate. As a result ___________. You fill in the blanks. I cannot.

True,...