You probably know or knew one. A veteran who served in a horrible place surrounded by death inflicted upon his buddies, that he inflicted upon the enemy, who maybe suffered permanent PTSD as well as physical wounds. And yet he…
Afghanistan and Iraq are vastly different. Afghanistan has been dominated by feuding warlords for many centuries, without a central and respected writ of authority. Iraq, as an integral part of the Levant, has been a nation-state actor connected to much…
If you know nothing else about former Secretary of Defense Donald Henry Rumsfeld, who died last Wednesday at age 88, you should know this. At 9:37 a.m. on September 11, 2001, al-Qaida terrorists crashed United Airlines Flight 77 into the…
“He snatched defeat from the jaws of victory,” was how my dad described it. After President George H. W. Bush had confronted Saddam Hussein over his takeover of Kuwait, gathered allies for the fight, and then smashed Iraq’s armed forces…
Pope Francis returned to Rome today after a historic four-day trip to Iraq. During the trip, he visited Baghdad, Ur, Erbil, Mosul, and several other sites. The first-ever papal visit to Iraq came at a time when the country is…
The Spymaster of Baghdad: A True Story of Bravery, Family, and Patriotism in the Battle against ISIS Margaret Coker (Dey Street Books, 336 pages, $29) Following a three-week war in 2003, the United States tried to put Iraq on the…
President Trump formally exited the 1992 “Open Skies” treaty with Russia yesterday on the ground that Russia wasn’t performing its obligations under that agreement. The treaty allowed each nation to fly reconnaissance aircraft over the other to inspect weapon systems….
President Donald Trump recently pointed to Joe Biden’s support for “these crazy endless wars.” The president also blamed the top military brass, in contrast to those in the ranks, for wanting to “fight wars.” The latter claim isn’t strictly accurate….
A pandemic is sweeping the U.S. and Middle East. Coronavirus is spreading among military personnel, undercutting readiness. Washington is broke. Congress voted an emergency stimulus package that costs 40 percent as much as the federal government spent last year. Even…
