What do we know; how can we know better? Oct 28, 2009 By Paula A. DeSutter Few intelligence assessments have proved more controversial than the November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate “Iran: Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities,” which stated that Iran’s nuclear weapons program had been halted in 2003. Mostly because of this conclusion, the NIE was [...]

By DEXTER FILKINS, MARK MAZZETTI and JAMES RISEN   Published: October 27, 2009 KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to [...]

Without Conceding Nukes, US Crafting Strategy To Deter Iran From Using Them Oct 27, 2009 (AP)  WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is quietly laying the groundwork for long-range strategy that could be used to contain a nuclear-equipped Iran and deter its leaders from using atomic weapons. U.S. officials insist they are not resigned to [...]

Oct 28, 2009 by Daniel Carty Sen. John McCain said the White House was dragging its feet on the decision to increase troop levels and chided President Barack Obama for the delay, saying “it’s time to act.” “We watch this situation continue to deteriorate while this long protracted process of decision-making goes on. We’re not [...]

Unless the U.S. shows resolve, the Taliban will simply wait us out. Oct 26, 2009 By JAMES SHINN Those of us in the Bush administration who were responsible for its “Afghan Strategy Review” kept our mouths shut when we handed over the document to the Obama transition team last fall. We didn’t want to box [...]

By Paul Greenberg · Tuesday, October 27, 2009 It won’t do, at least not in polite society, to propose wiping a country off the map. That mantra has been left to Iran’s raving leader. Instead, this year’s tactic at the always-busy United Nations is to deny Israel the right to defend itself. Which would lead [...]

By Eric Zimmermann – 10/26/09 01:45 PM ET Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s request for a troop surge in Afghanistan goes too far, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said on Monday. “I am convinced from my conversations with Gen. Stanley McChrystal that he understands the necessity of conducting a smart counterinsurgency in a limited geographic area,” Kerry said [...]

October 27, 2009     Special to American Forces Press Service   Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Keep Watch in AfghanistanBy Army Spc. Derek L. Kuhn   Army Spc. Mitchell Matney launches a Raven UAV at COP Nagil in Laghman prov, Oct. 13, 2009.  LAGHMAN PROVINCE – Odin was a warrior god in Greek mythology who ancient [...]

Andrew C. McCarthy: Transferring Terrorist Prisoners To The U.S. Means Setting Them Free Here, Too Oct 26, 2009 (National Review Online)  Andrew C. McCarthy is a senior fellow at the National Review Institute and the author of Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad. If Guantanamo Bay is closed, scores of trained jihadists, committed to [...]

Washington Post: Foreign Service Officer and Former Marine Captain says he no Longer Knows Why Nation is Fighting Oct 27, 2009 (Washington Post)  This story was written by Karen DeYoung . When Matthew Hoh joined the Foreign Service early this year, he was exactly the kind of smart civil-military hybrid the administration was looking for [...]