In his Ft. Hood eulogy yesterday, the President eloquently honored “men and women answering an extraordinary call–the call to serve their comrades, their communities, and their country. In an age of selfishness, they embody responsibility. In an era of division, they call upon us to come together. In a time of cynicism, they remind us of who we are as Americans… “Tomorrow is Veterans...

I suppose it was somewhat heartening to see that our national parks and forests will be giving free admissions to U.S. veterans today in honor of Armistice Day. But there’s a small, bitter part of me which always finds such gestures to ring rather hollow and to be far from enough. The debt we owe to our returning heroes runs much deeper than a free pass to Disneyland. Don’t get me wrong here…...

When President Barack Obama gave a speech at the memorial service for the 14 people murdered by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan at Fort Hood, it was one of those moments Presidents don’t relish but that can linger beyond the moment. Was this one of them? The context was a thorny one. Controversies still swirl over which intelligence agency seemingly dropped the ball on the warning signs that Hasan was a potential...

Kevin Drum praises Jonah Goldberg for resisting the impulse to call Nidal Malik Hasan a terrorist. A traitor? A murderer? Sure. But not a terrorist. The strange thing is that liberals assume they should be against labeling Hasan a terrorist and conservatives assume they should be for it. That makes a certain amount of sense. Liberals fear exaggerated threats. Conservatives fear threats that are ignored. But...

President Barack Obama today spoke to a crowd of 15,000 at memorial service for the Fort Hood Massacre in which 14 people were killed. Details of the event are HERE. Here’s the full text of his address, via the White House website: To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed...

Apparently rumors of the death of President Obama’s decision making process on the route forward in Afghanistan were somewhat exaggerated. This from White House National Security Adviser Retired Gen. Jim Jones: “Reports that President Obama has made a decision about Afghanistan are absolutely false,” Jones, who generally keeps a low public profile, said in a prepared statement Monday night....

Cam Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. During the past few days I have been writing about the sacrifices made by and heroism exhibited by our veterans—both living and departed. We often forget, however, that many of the sacrifices made, heroism and patriotism displayed and just plain honorable service to our country is by men and women who at one time were not even permitted to legally serve, and who today can serve...

The Iraqi Army Diaries—entry 3 By s d liddick In the spring of 2009 I embedded with the U.S. Army’s 1-63 Combined Arms Battalion, in the small town of Mahmudiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad. The town is a cardinal point on what American soldiers have termed the Triangle of Death. Within a month I was offered a de facto embed spot with the Iraqi Army (IA), by General Mohammed, commander of the 17th Division....

Fourteen were killed at Fort Hood, not thirteen as reported all week long. Which official is correcting the death toll? I am. On the authority of being a mother who is multi-paragravida, meaning one who has given birth more than once, and on the authority of being a grandmother of five souls, I can, I think, count straight about this particular tragedy. Francheska Velez was a 21-year-old woman, shot to death...

The day the Wall came down: Bewildered East German border guards puzzle over whether to shake the hands of their former adversaries from the West, on November 9, 1989. Yes – today is the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. A reading of this op-ed by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev shows, however, that the wounds that divide Russia and the West – and even Europe’s...

As the world celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Lech Walesa, the co-founder of Solidarnosc, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of Poland, wants to share in the celebration, the honor and the credit—and perhaps rightly so. Walesa was recently interviewed by Spiegel Online and says the collapse of communism really started in the Polish shipyards, in Gdansk. In the...

Exactly 20 years ago today, the infamous Berlin Wall “came down.” It would still be weeks and months before the monstrous construction would be actually torn down. However, the symbolic, emotional—and practical—impacts of that night 20 years ago were real, are still with us and are vividly remembered. The following article appeared today in the Austin American-Statesman and has been...

ABC News reports that U.S. military officials were aware that the shooter in the Fort Hood masscre had was trying to get in touch with people associated with Al Qaeda — a report that, if true, has a host of implications on the military, homeland security and political fronts: U.S. intelligence agencies were aware months ago that Army Major Nidal Hasan was attempting to make contact with people associated...

This is the third in a series of articles honoring our Veterans on the occasion of the upcoming Veterans Day celebration. I have frequently written about the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military award for valor in combat, and about its recipients. This Veterans Day gives Americans another opportunity to remember and thank all those heroes who have received that hallowed award for “conspicuous gallantry...

This is the second in a series of articles dedicated to our Veterans. According to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Veterans Day is a day to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Of course, every man or woman who has honorably served our nation in the military is a patriot and is honored on Veterans Day. There...

Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Judge Oscar Magi: Repercussions over his decision to convict 23 CIA agents of kidnapping on Italian soil are already being felt. Italians today may be proud that their system of justice hasn’t spared intelligence agents of the world’s mightiest power, but the children of ancient Rome are well-acquainted with the consequences that are sure to follow. In regard to Thursday’s convictions by an...

JUST WESTERN BLUSTER BEFORE THE INEVITABLE DEAL? Could it be that at the end of this tortuous process of negotiating with Iran, the United States and the West will arrive at some sort of entente with Tehran that leaves America’s current Arab allies out in the cold? That is precisely the prediction of Le Quotidien d’Oran Kharroubi Habib, who sounds this clarion call to his Arab brethren to prepare for...

Mike Keefe, Keefe, The Denver Post This cartoon is copyrighted and licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. All rights reserved.

Miss Kimberly Munley, the mother of a three-year-old daughter, and a civie policewoman, is in stable condition, with injuries to the upper leg and thigh. General Cone said her fearless response to gunman at Fort Hood, had saved countless lives. Trained in active-response tactics, she rushed into the building where Major Nidal Malik Hasan began firing on comrades as they prepared to deploy to Afghanistan and...

Guest post by Jared Stancombe Jared Stancombe is a 2009 graduate of Indiana University, where his studies focused on peace and conflict studies in Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. His other academic interests include counterinsurgency and complex military operations. He is currently an analyst for a U.S. government agency responsible for national security and is in the officer selection process...

November 11 is Veterans Day. A day—a celebration—to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. This is the first of three articles honoring those men and women. Two months ago, in “Leave No Man Behind—65 Years Later,” I praised the spirit and culture of our military as reflected in the creed that you don’t...

Photo Credit: Ben Sklar/Getty Images Investigators and journalists are now slowly fleshing out some details about yesterday’s Fort Hood military-base massacre that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded — and about accused shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. The big question is “why” — a question increasingly asked as more tidbits slowly emerge. The detail that is and will get the...

In 1960, President Eisenhower warned us of the growing influence and power of the Military Industrial Complex. He was right and we ignored him. Today our country has the world’s largest total annual Military Budget of over $650 billion, additional defense-related spending of over $350 billion, more than 1.5 million people serving in its Armed Forces in over 100 countries around the globe, and is currently...