Iraq Envoy John Allen’s “Quiet Awakening” in Anbar
By James Kitfield Yahoo News, April 28, 2015 Not long ago, retired Marine Corps General John Allen was a pretty good argument for the wisdom of the old adage, “Be careful what you wish for.”…
Tag Archives: US Foreign Policy
Why Washington Should Declare War on ISIS
The terrorist group has a bigger sanctuary, far more money, and is more indiscriminately murderous than Al Qaeda was on September 10, 2001. BY JAMES KITFIELD August 20, 2014 When a centrist Democrat, a Republican…
Geneva II: Is It Always Better to ‘Jaw, Jaw’ than ‘War, War’?
Geneva II: Is it Always Better to “Jaw Jaw” than to “War War”? Winston Churchill’s adage is being sorely tested this week in Switzerland at the peace conference on Syria. To avoid the perverse outcome…
Firing Line: The Nairobi Massacre and America’s Secret War with Al-Shabab
By James Kitfield Last September the terrorist group al-Shabab came out of the shadows in Somalia to launch a coordinated assault on an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, killing 67 people and wounding many more…
Al Qaeda Carving Caliphate Out of Syria
Critics of the United States’ hands-off approach to Syria’s civil war have long warned that the costs of doing little to shape the conflict’s outcome would one day outweigh the risks of doing more. The…
A Glimpse of Genocide
A new report by Human Rights Watch gives an unsettling glimpse of the sectarian slaughter that could attend the collapse of the Syrian government if recent gains by Islamist extremist groups are not checked. According…
Schools Out in Damascus
With the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approving a resolution today granting President Obama authority to launch a military strike on Syria to deter the further use of chemical weapons against civilians, sources in Damascus report…
The Two Amigos and Senora Rice
After leaving a weekend meeting with President Obama on the upcoming vote on military action in Syria, Senators John McCain, R-Az, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said they were going to hold a follow-on meeting to…
France: Who’s the ‘Surrender Monkey’ Now?
Not so very long ago, leaders on Capitol Hill were so piqued at France that they officially relabeled “French Fries” as “Freedom Fries” in Congressional cafeterias. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld famously designated France…
War with Syria: At the Intersection of Interests and Ideology
When the dogs of war start howling, it’s worth noting what pack they run in. For the better part of two years, hawkish interventionists like Senators John McCain, R-Az., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have been…