NewsTrust - Department of Defense - Most Recent Stories: Opinion

Should Obama Fire Gen. McChrystal?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Consortium News - By Ray McGovern - Nov. 20 (Opinion) - Facing military pressure to escalate in Afghanistan, President Obama may need an inner Harry Truman.

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Healing our troubled vets

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Los Angeles Times - Nov. 11 (Editorial) - The public is kinder to its veterans today than it was during the Vietnam War, when soldiers risked their lives overseas only to face scorn from antiwar activists when they got home. Yet veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan may be having a harder time readjusting to civilian life than previous generations of warriors.

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Shinseki: Veterans' Mental Health a Priority

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

CBS News - By Daniel Carty - Nov. 11 (Interview) - Eric Shinseki, the retired four-star general who currently heads the Department of Veterans Affairs, said his agency is "working diligently" to better aid veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

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Former Marine captain resigns in protest of Afghanistan war

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Salon - By Glenn Greenwald - Oct. 27 (Opinion) - Matthew Hoh, a former Marine captain with combat experience in Iraq, resigned last month from his position with the Foreign Service, where he was the the senior U.S. civilian in the Taliban-dominated Southern Afghanistan province of Zabul, because he became convinced that our war in that country will not only inevitably fail, but is fueling the very insurgency we are trying to defeat. Hoh's resignation is remarkable because it entails the sort of career sacrifice in the name of principle that has been so rare over the last decade, but even more so because of the extraordinary four-page letter (.pdf) he wrote explaining his reasoning.

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Afghanistan: Former Marine at State Resigns

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Taylor Marsh - By Taylor Marsh - Oct. 27 (Opinion) - His name is Matthew Hoh and this could turn into a story that will haunt Pres. Obama’s decision on Afghanistan every day until the strategy is announced. I’m sure it is already. Hoh simply doesn’t believe in where the U.S. mission has been and where Obama is about to take the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. No doubt it will fuel people who want to withdraw, even as I continue to believe from all information I’ve gathered that no more troops is step one, with many complicated issues to address more important than sending in more U.S. soldiers. So, when Hoh says, “But you have to draw the line somewhere, and say this is their problem to solve,” I absolutely agree. But as it now stands, the Afghan women are worse off today than they were when the Taliban reigned. We cannot leave it at that or Afghanistan will be more than a corrupt mess; it will revert to a failed state, because no country can stabilize with the women of that country being gang raped, reduced as property and held under lock and key. After all, it was Carter who authorized the first funding that begat Reagan’s partnership with Zia that begat the mujahadeen that begat William Casey’s obsessions that begat, and on and on, until Bush invaded after 9/11, that became the mess he dropped in Obama’s lap.

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Zakaria on a Third Surge in Afghanistan

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Newsweek - By Fareed Zakaria - Oct. 26 (Opinion) - The real question we should be asking in Afghanistan is not "Do we need a surge?" but rather "Do we need a third surge?" The number of U.S. forces in Afghanistan in January 2008 was 26,607. Over the next six months, the Bush administration raised the total to 48,250. President Bush described this policy as "the quiet surge," and he made the standard arguments about the need for a counterinsurgency capacity—the troops had to not only fight the Taliban but protect the Afghan population, strengthen and train the Afghan Army and police, and assist in development.

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Lt. Choi Won't Lie for His Country

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 16 (Opinion) - After receiving the letter from the Army, Choi wrote an open letter to his commander in chief, Obama. He said: "I have personally served for a decade under Don't Ask, Don't Tell: an immoral law and policy that forces American soldiers to deceive and lie about their sexual orientation. Worse, it forces others to tolerate deception and lying." U.S. troops in Afghanistan are serving side by side with NATO forces that include openly gay and lesbian troops.

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Obama Finally Facing Reality in Afghanistan

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Dan Froomkin - Sep. 24 (Opinion) - Should Obama actually change his mind about Afghanistan, our elite journalists -- obsessed as they are with how the game is played -- will almost inevitably characterize this as vacillation and declare it a sign of political weakness. But that really misses the point.

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Reading the McChrystal Report

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

New Yorker - By George Packer - Sep. 24 (Opinion) - It’s not the Pentagon Papers. After all the noise and controversy, the assessment of the war in Afghanistan by General Stanley McChrystal that was leaked to the Post’s Bob Woodward turns out to be a singularly unsurprising document. Its emphasis isn’t on more troops (which is what all the discussion in Washington inevitably comes down to) but on a better approach to counterinsurgency. It’s a distillation of all the recent discoveries and rediscoveries made by the military under General Petraeus, with the advice of experts like David Kilcullen.

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12 Shocking Ideas That Could Change the World

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wired - Sep. 22 (Opinion) - Warning: The people's ideas expressed here may be dangerous. For this year's list, we walked right past the usual suspects and went looking for trouble.

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"The Most Dangerous Man in America": New Documentary Chronicles Story of Daniel Ellsberg, Whose Leak of the Pentagon Papers Helped End Vietnam War

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Daniel Ellsberg - Sep. 16 (Interview) - Daniel Ellsberg once faced espionage charges and possibly life in prison after leaking what became known as the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page classified history outlining the true extent of US involvement in Vietnam. Daniel Ellsberg’s actions directly contributed to the end of Nixon presidency and the Vietnam War. His story is chronicled in the new documentary The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.

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Fear was no excuse to condone torture

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Miami Herald - By Charles C. Krulak, Joseph P. Hoar - Sep. 15 (Opinion) - In the fear that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Americans were told that defeating Al Qaeda would require us to ``take off the gloves.'' As a former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and a retired commander-in-chief of U.S. Central Command, we knew that was a recipe for disaster. But we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas -- and his scare tactics.

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Disappearing Iraq

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Columbia Journalism Review - By Jane Arraf - Sep. 15 (Opinion) - Ah, the happy world of Iraq, as seen through U.S. military press releases. Iraq could be exploding—in fact, parts of it still regularly are—but the press-release view would still be that of policemen graduating, officials cutting ribbons, and grateful citizens leading security forces and their U.S. advisers to weapons caches. The few press releases that do bear any relation to the reality we reporters see on the ground (“Iraqi Special Operations Forces Continue Operations Despite Budget Challenges”) are almost instantly recalled. The regular background briefings and press conferences that once helped put the ongoing violence into context are so last year. In a country with 130,000 U.S. troops fighting a war that still costs tens of billions of dollars a month, the military might as well be invisible. And for the most part, it seems to want it that way.

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The Pentagon's New Watchdog - Forbes.com

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Forbes - By Dirk Smillie - Sep. 05 (Interview) - For years, the military has been systematically bouncing reporters from their embed assignments in the middle of their tours simply because they didn't like a particular story a reporter did. The Pentagon established the embedding system to give reporters access to information about what America is fighting for.

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CIA Hired Private Military Firm Blackwater for Secret Assassination Program

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman, Juan Gonzalez, Jeremy Scahill - Aug. 20 (Interview) - The New York Times is reporting the CIA hired contractors from Blackwater in 2004 as part of a secret program to locate and assassinate top operatives of al-Qaeda. The CIA spent several million dollars on the program, which the Times claims did not successfully capture or kill any terrorist suspects. We speak to independent journalist Jeremy Scahill, author of the bestseller Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army.

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Securing the vote in volatile northeastern Afghanistan

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Worldfocus - Aug. 19 (Opinion) - Holding an election here against the wishes of our numerous enemies will certainly be interesting. Not only are we sure to see more attacks, but we’re also sure to have less support in the form of air since those air assets are likely to be needed everywhere else as well.

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Kucinich Calls for Debate on National Priorities, Speaks Against Military Funding Bill

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Common Dreams - By Dennis Kucinich - Jul. 30 (Press Release) - "We need to have a serious debate about the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and the priorities of this nation. We need to discuss our options and we must immediately withdraw U.S. troops and contractors, not just combat troops, but all of our troops. It is time for this body to rethink the validity of funding military operations throughout the world when we have so many priorities that need to be addressed at home.

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AU Urges Senate Armed Services Committee to Question McHugh On Religious Liberty Issues

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

AU.org - Jul. 29 (Press Release) - Americans United says McHugh has a troubling record when it comes to separation of church and state. “As a member of the House, McHugh repeatedly voted for or cosponsored proposals that would undermine the wall of separation between church and state,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “We must have assurances that as Secretary of the Army, he will support the rights of men and women of all faiths and none.”

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Army stronger

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Washington Times - Jul. 22 (Editorial) - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Monday that the Army plans to add an additional 22,000 troops to its ranks, growing to 569,000 soldiers. The force will be the largest it has been since the 572,000 in 1993, during the post-Cold War reduction in force, but far below the 1.57 million soldiers under arms in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War.

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Tom Hayden: Pentagon Enlists Feminists for War Aims

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Tom Hayden - Jul. 19 (Opinion) - Over a decade ago a young woman approached me on the California Senate floor with a petition against the Taliban. Women are being repressed, tortured and killed by religious fundamentalists, she said. I signed on. The Taliban seemed like a Ku Klux Klan aimed at women. I was disgusted that the State Department and oil companies would negotiate with them over pipelines, with cursory regard for women's rights. I still feel that way.

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PANIC! Missouri Congressman Warns Of Imminent Nuclear Threat To Seattle (And The Rest Of Your Scritti Politti)

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - Jun. 05 (Opinion) - If you cast your mind back to yesterday, on these pages, we made note of Supergenius Congressman Todd Akin, who doesn't understand why ANYONE would be opposed to climate change, because how else would the cold winter months give way to warm springs and summers. Come on! This stuff is academic! Well, people are going to start taking Akin a hell of a lot more seriously. Why? BECAUSE HOLY NUTS SEATTLE IS ABOUT TO BE NUKED BY NORTH KOREA!

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Cheney's Chief Assassin Is Now Obama's Commander in Afghanistanne

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By James Petras - May. 18 (Opinion) - McChrystal’s rise to leadership is marked by his central role in directing special operations teams engaged in extrajudicial assassinations, systematic torture, bombing of civilian communities and search and destroy missions. He is the very embodiment of the brutality and gore that accompanies military-driven empire building. Between September 2003 and August 2008, McChrystal directed the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations (JSO) Command which operates special teams in overseas assassinations.

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A 'Psychic Thrill' for US Empire

Sun, 17 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - By Bruce Fein, Paul Jay - May. 17 (Opinion) - The United States began as a Republic seeking to avoid foreign entangling alliances, but the nation has been tempted over the past two centuries into becoming an Empire. Bruce Fein, who worked in Ronald Reagan’s adminstration, says the momentum toward Empire has accelerated over the past few decades as the United States established more and more overseas military bases and Americans were sold on the quixotic notion that they could shield themselves from risk.

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Pentagon, Pakistan No Longer Cooperating in Drone War?

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Wired - By Noah Shachtman - May. 15 (Opinion) - This much we know: The U.S. military flew some of its drones over Pakistan, and shared the footage with their counterparts in the Pakistani armed forces. Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate as much today. After that, things get… kind of confusing.

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Mr. Cheney, You Did Not Keep Us Safe

Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - May. 14 (Opinion) - If 3,000 Americans had been killed on your watch, in an attack that could have been prevented, perhaps you'd be a little hesitant to accuse anyone else of endangering America. And if you had advocated torture, and the torture produced false information that you used to mislead America into an unwise, unjust and unwarranted war, you might be a tad sheepish about defending the use of torture.

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