National Security

After the invasion of Iraq there was much talk among conservatives about invading Syria. Then Secretary of State Colin Powell was heavily criticized for taking a trip to Syria to talk to its leadership. Newt Gingrich said, "The concept of the American secretary of state going to Damascus to...

This is one piece of summer entertainment that is definitely not mindless. When I say Iron Man belongs in the West Wing, I don't mean as President, but more along the lines of Special Advisor on National Security. I saw this movie on opening night last week at the Avalon,...

Though national security will be front and center in the 2008 presidential election, few if any candidates or analysts will take the trouble to define it. Instead, we'll be treated to another round of charges and counter-charges, more spending versus less spending, flag pins and symbolic patriotism. Almost two decades...

Even after all of this time and President Bush's own abandonment of the WMD theme, Vice President Richard Cheney is still convinced that there are hidden WMDs in the Middle East...

Five years ago today and a week prior to Bush's "mission accomplished" speech John McCain was on Chris Matthews' Hardball where he praised the president, Rumsfeld, and the strategy and tactics used to go into Iraq. Of note, McCain said Bush had "done a great job," and that he was...

Government handouts to corporations might seem untenable at a time when more and more Americans suffer every day from the impacts of a mounting economic crisis. Yet efforts to bolster the economy have largely taken the form of corporate welfare -- much like an appalling effort, in the closing...

It is common practice for Hollywood producers to ask the Department of Defense for help in filmmaking. The asks range from helicopters to technical advice -- the decision rule for the DoD is whether or not the product placement will boost recruitment. Hence, the more explosions and shiny metal, the...

John McCain screwed up on Foreign Policy 101 AGAIN. Yesterday at the AP annual meeting, McCain said he would defer any decision to General Petraeus over whether troops should be shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan in order to intensify the search for Osama bin Laden. Only problem is that...

Democracy Corps has a great new poll out on national security and the 2008 election cycle (Also look at the slides [pdf]). I think the overall conclusion is: Democrats should address national security head on because they can beat Republicans on this issue.

There has been a pretty intensive...

To see part 1 of this sneak peek of my upcoming book, The Candy Bombers, click here.

I didn't set out to write a book about American politics. In fact, I was trying to avoid it. I've been in the thick of it as a former aide in...

Barack Obama appeared on MSNBC's Hardball last night and was asked about the way he would handle the 3 a.m. phone call.

The transcript:

MATTHEWS: Let me give you a scene that may face you in the next year or two, where the national security adviser calls you at 3:00...

Throughout the primaries there has been a credulous discussion about the different reasons why Hillary Clinton voted for the Iraq War authorization bill. Senator Clinton has said that she thought the president should have the authority to threaten force so he would have better negotiation leverage. Senator Obama has said...

"I've been thinking so much about this lately, while I stand on the corner -- dressed in black during rush hour -- protesting the Iraq war. I was part of the generation that tore our government down, but never took the time to put something back in its place" This...

John McCain went before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council yesterday morning to showcase his foreign policy credentials and convince Americans that he is the only candidate experienced enough to take that 3am telephone call. While Clinton and Obama are distracted by a pre-Pennsylvania primary food fight, McCain's address constituted...

Barack Obama has said that "Washington is the place where good ideas go to die."

I have to agree with him in part that the ideas industry in Washington and the public...

"He [King George] has erected a multitude of new offices and set hither swarms of officers to harass out people and eat out their subsistence." The Declaration of Independence, 1776

I. Building Up the Domestic Security Apparatus

Most explanations of the relentless pursuit of undocumented immigrants since...

At the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, it's fitting to take stock: What has the war cost your community?

Of course there is no greater cost than the hundreds of thousands of lives lost in this unnecessary and tragic war. But the dollar cost has other enormous human...

As Robert Anton Wilson pointed out (or William S. Burroughs, if you prefer), hexagram 23 of the I Ching is "breaking apart." Anyone who subscribes to his "23 enigma" theory will note that this is the twenty-third installment of this column. If you throw hexagram 23, the I Ching...