While doing some research on the Afghanistan war for another publication, I soon discovered that there is no shortage of opinions—many of them “expert” opinions—on how to conduct and conclude that war. It made me realize how excruciatingly difficult it must be for the president—faced with an overabundance of advisers and advice—to divine the right policy and strategy to bring that war to a satisfactory conclusion and, inextricably tied to that, to make what will probably...

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, on a visit to Northrop Grumman’s Newport News shipyard yesterday, effectively said “Don’t worry over the quality of our submarines.” After visiting the submarine building facility at Newport News—one of only two shipyards in the nation to build nuclear-powered submarines— Mabus said during a brief news conference: “I’m absolutely comfortable with the quality of the submarines that are being produced here…I’m comfortable with what Northrop...

One of the stories behind the story of the demise of the F-22 Raptor fighter is the “developing story” of the increasingly important role unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are playing in today’s and certainly in tomorrow’s Air Force. In my story behind the story of the F-22 demise, I quoted Fred Kaplan’s comments that, during the most intense period of the Cold War, “much higher status was given to pilots of nuclear bombers.” Then, the Vietnam War “paved the way...

Some of our readers, I am sure, read the New York Times. Some—perhaps many—do not. They don’t know what they are missing. Some love the New York Times. Some don’t. They have quite different feelings towards the venerable publication—too graphic to describe here. But we’ll forgive them for that. I, for one, read, like and—most of the time—agree with the New York Times. So, sue me! Many of the New York Times’ editorials and opinion pieces often...

By now, most of the stories behind the dazzling rise and ignominious demise of a proud, magnificent bird, the F-22 Raptor, have been told. Stories about the brilliant design and cutting edge manufacturing and assembly technology. A technology that has been described as “the only thing more complex than the human body.” (I was fortunate to visit the “mile-long” Lockheed Martin F-16 assembly line; the F-22 line must be even more spectacular.) Stories about the awesome performance of...

Women in the military have been—by tradition, by law, policy or regulation—excluded from various duties. One of the last remaining exclusions is women serving in “front-line combat jobs.” But, even here, according to the Navy Times, “combat roles have become blurred during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which irregular warfare marked by insurgent roadside bombs and a lack of the frontlines evident in traditional warfare have brought women assigned to jobs as corpsmen,...

First, a personal story intended as full disclosure for the second part of this post. I immigrated to the United States at the age of 17 from the Netherlands. Immediately upon reaching my 18th birthday, I enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. In those days, the 50s, a legal immigrant could join the U.S. armed forces upon signing a “declaration of intent” to become a U.S. citizen. Serving in the U.S. armed forces also expedited one’s path to citizenship to three years of military service...

Full Disclosure: I didn’t like Tom DeLay when he was in politics, I don’t like him now, and I probably will never like the man. Sorry! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I do have a disclaimer: I am not an expert when it comes to dancing. And a caveat: This post contains some satire. If I think of some other proviso, disclaimer, etc., I’ll let you know. Although I am not much into watching studio dancing or dancing contests, there is one dance that I love to watch when...

After becoming an expert on U.S-Russia relations during her campaign for the vice-presidency by claiming that Russia could be seen from Alaska, Sarah Palin can now add a second major power to her foreign policy credentials: China. By reading a prepared, major foreign policy speech before a packed ballroom in Hong Kong’s Grand Hyatt hotel, Sarah Palin has now clearly and firmly cemented her foreign policy credentials and boosted her credibility for her 2012 presidential run. While organizers banned...

I just received an e-mail in Spanish from a friend. It was titled ” La Culpa es de la Vaca,” (It’s the cow’s fault), and started as follows: COMUNISMO: Tienes 2 vacas. El estado te quita las dos y te regala un poco de la leche. (COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and gives you a little bit of milk) And so it went on with Socialism, Fascism, Capitalism, etc., etc. Some of them were quite original—I thought—and funny and I immediately...

Those who long for less government, less government “interference,” and more privatization may want to take a look at The Netherlands. In an article in the Dutch NRC Handelsblad that starts with the assertion that “Nobody is in charge in the Netherlands – even democracy has been privatized,” Marc Chavannes, a Dutch journalist and political columnist, tells us: The Netherlands was late in professing its devotion to Reaganism and Thatcherism. But when it finally did embrace the free market...

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 STATE OF HAWAII H.C.R. NO. 19 H.D.1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION STRONGLY URGING THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE AND THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO AWARD SGT. RAFAEL PERALTA THE MEDAL OF HONOR. 15 WHEREAS, his battalion redeployed to Iraq’s Anbar Province 16 in 2004 as part of Operation Phantom Fury to battle insurgents 17 in their stronghold of Fallujah; and 18 19 WHEREAS, on November 15, 2004, while assisting one of his 20 rifle platoon’s...

This morning’s Op-Ed piece in the New York Times by Ross Douthat will certainly raise a lot of eyebrows, produce a lot of frowns, bring out a lot of smiles and everything in between—and beyond. For the article is a little bit about the good and a lot about the bad and the ugly of a person whom Americans either love, or love to hate. You guessed it; it is about George W. Bush. What makes the article different and interesting, in my opinion, is how the author, while “qualifyingly”...

I will never forget then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s answer to a question by Army specialist Thomas Wilson of the 278th Regimental Combat Team, back in December of 2004, nearly two years after the start of the Iraq war. The setting was a town-hall style meeting Rumsfeld was holding with over 2,000 Iraq-bound troops in a cavernous hangar at a remote desert camp in Kuwait. Set out on display for Rumsfeld, were a bunch of fully up-armored Humvees and heavy trucks. The question posed...

I lived in the Netherlands for many years and I fondly remember its windmills, its gorgeous fields of tulips, and of course its delicious cheese—made from that great Dutch koe melk (cow milk). I don’t remember, however, seeing any camels grazing in the luscious Dutch pastures. That’s why the headline in this morning’s news.scotsman.com got my attention. Under the banner, “Dutchman battles bureaucracy to spread the milk of camel kindness,” one reads about an enterprising,...

I have always been in awe of the incredible acts of valor and selfless sacrifice our military are capable of. More recently, I have been puzzled—and have questioned—why there have been so few Medals of Honor awarded to our heroes who have continued to “distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their lives above and beyond the call of duty” in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, all six Medals of Honor awarded for heroism in the Iraq...

A couple of months ago, President Obama announced that he would be awarding the Medal of Honor to Army Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, who was killed by enemy fire on June 21, 2006, while trying to rescue wounded comrades in the mountains of Afghanistan. This afternoon, the President performing what probably is one of his most solemn duties as president and commander-in-chief, presented the Medal of Honor posthumously to the Massachusetts hero. Sgt. 1st Class Monti thus becomes the first hero awarded...

As I wrote yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates planned to address the Air Force Association (AFA) today. U.S. News & World Report compared Gates’ appearance at the AFA, an association “made up in part of retired pilots and Air Force brass who were shocked when Gates last year fired the Air Force secretary and chief of staff over reports of a nuclear mishap,” and who were further shocked when Gates cancelled the F-22 program, as going into the lion’s den. It remains to be seen...

Muntather Zaidi, the Iraqi television correspondent who became (in)famous when he hurled his shoes at then-President Bush yelling, “This is a gift from the Iraqis! This is the farewell kiss, you dog!” was released from an Iraqi prison yesterday. Zaidi was sentenced to three years in prison, but his sentence was later shortened to one year and then the judiciary ordered him released this month. According to the LA Times, at a news conference In Baghdad upon his release, Zaidi told reporters...

In April of this year, Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended several military budgetary cuts, including for the production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet to stop at 187 aircraft, which means that only four more F-22s will be produced. It was a move that drew a firestorm of criticism from Congress, the military, the military aerospace industry and the military aerospace community. The move, however, wasn’t unexpected. Secretary Gates had already tipped his hand as, for years, he has been forcefully...

I am and have been in favor of publicly honoring our fallen heroes when they touch American soil for the last time at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. My personal motto is “Nothing to hide here. Everything to Honor.” A lot of controversy and apprehension had surrounded this issue. Finally, on February 26, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced a policy consistent with what we presently have at Arlington National Cemetery which allows the family to decide whether to allow media coverage. On...

In an official White House announcement yesterday, the President of the United States proclaimed September 11, 2009, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks against the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, and invited the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. He called upon the...

Five years after that horrific day in September 2001, the following letter appeared in TIME: Five years after 9/11, our nation ought to be as united as it was on that tragic day. We should have held on to the outpouring of global goodwill and support we received then. We should have remained laser-focused on rooting out and bringing to justice those responsible for the attacks. We should have remained committed to making our homeland more secure. After 9/11 our nation should have rededicated itself...

, , We have been so absorbed by issues such as what health care reform will do to our national character and what the President of the United States will say to our kids (and I am not minimizing the importance of these concerns), that other issues and stories have tended to go completely off the public’s radar screen. One such story is the never-ending personal tragedy of David Goldman, the New Jersey father whose son, Sean, was abducted to Brazil five years ago, when Sean was only 4-years...

As the fighting in Afghanistan intensifies; as that war claims more and more casualties; and as critical decisions loom on national objectives, strategy and corresponding troop levels and deployments there, the debate also intensifies. I have stated my views on the Afghanistan war here and here, and so have other TMV contributors. I am probably oversimplifying things, but I see the major debate settling around four or five options: Withdraw immediately from Afghanistan; withdraw gradually from...