This, by Thom Shanker of the NY Times, is a very good analysis of Stanley McChrystal’s strategy in the battle for Marjah. It is, to be sure, a new kind of warfare–a major battle as demonstration project–that isn’t counterinsurgency, but complements it. Helmand Province isn’t the center of gravity of the Taliban insurgency; Kandahar …
Foreign Policy
Morning Must Reads
–One of the few areas of comity and cooperation between the parties during the Obama administration has been education policy. The Washington Post reports this morning that Democrats and Republicans in the House are taking a bipartisan stab at rewriting No Child Left Behind.
–It looks like the White House may have a deal on forming …
Morning Must Reads
–Despite the high profile retirements and a Majority Leader on the ropes in Nevada, the chances of the GOP flipping the Senate in November remain slim, albeit not impossible. Adam Nagourney looks at the map in today’s Times, concluding that Republicans would have to run the table in all competitive races to have a shot.
–Everybody …
Morning Must Reads
–D.C. dysfunction seems to be the theme of the day. Bayh says it’s why he’s retiring. Former Clinton chief of staff and Center for American Progress president John Podesta, citing GOP obstructionism, says the political environment “sucks.” Tea Party angst over big government run amok lands on the front page of the New York Times. A Wall …
Morning Must Reads
–Here’s some trivial President’s Day trivia: The folks at Smart Politics figured out that 20 percent of U.S. presidential elections (that would be 11) have been won by a candidate born under the astrological sign Aquarius. Before anyone gets too excited, it’s worth noting that one of the five presidents contributing to this number is …
Obama in the Briefing Room
The president made a surprise visit to the daily press briefing Tuesday, only the third time he has made such an appearance to date. He reported back on today’s talks with congressional leaders from both parties, and took wide-ranging questions from the press.
Obama said he asked Republican leadership this morning to end the practice …
Jack Murtha, 77, Dies
Pennsylvania Rep. John C. Murtha, died today of complications relating to a gallbladder surgery. He was 77.
A decorated Vietnam War hero, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi credited Murtha — who was her first choice for majority leader — with helping to turn public opinion against the war in Iraq after he announced his opposition to the war …
The World’s Worst Negotiators–Continued
Iran continues to play games with the rest of the world with regard to its nuclear program. This weekend, we’ve had the Foreign Minister claiming that a nuclear deal was close. And Ahmadinejad threatening the exact opposite: a further augmentation of its highly enriched uranium for use in a nuclear reactor to produce medical isotopes. …
The Latest Iran Outrage
Apparently, Iran’s military dictatorship is now moving to arrest its opponents–and there are many–among the Mullahs in the holy city of Qum. Word comes that Ayatullah Mohammed Taqi Khalaji has been arrested. His family does not know where he is being held.
Khalaji is a follower of the late reformist Grand Ayatullah Montazeri, whose …
Iran Nuclear Physicist Killed
This is one for the spy novels…in fact, David Ignatius’ most recent offering, The Increment, had a very similar situation: An Iranian nuclear physicist is killed. The Iranians blame the Great Satan, of course, but then we learn:
Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, 50, was described by colleagues as a respected Tehran University nuclear physicist.
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Ford Eyes Gillibrand Challenge; Schumer Eyes Ford (And Not in a Good Way)
Kristen Gillibrand may not have been their first choice to fill Hillary Clinton’s New York Senate seat (ahem, Caroline Kennedy) but the White House is sticking by her after former five-term Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford told the New York Post exclusively (note the interesting choice of Gotham publications for a Democrat):
It’s true: I am
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Responsibility Taking Cont’d: Hillary Clinton May Want To Revise And Extend
Last week I wrote about the impulse of federal department heads to cover their, um, backsides when something goes wrong. I also noted that this impulse often has poor results. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tried to see the silver lining in the botched Christmas Day attack–saying that “the system worked”–only to put …
Meanwhile, U.S. Intelligence in Afghanistan Gets A Failing Grade
The senior military intelligence officer in Afghanistan has penned a stinging evaluation of his team’s ability to collect the right kind of information. In a paper for the Center For New American Security, Maj. Gen. Michael T. Flynn writes:
Eight years into the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. intelligence community is only marginally
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