General “it’s fun to shoot some people” to lead Middle East military

Another example of how we will be winning their hearts and minds, no doubt.

But not to worry, apparently. He was properly chastised and higher-ups say he’s promised to be good.

Does an Afghanistan exit strategy hurt our allies?

Senate Republicans criticized President Obama’s decision to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in July 2011, claiming it sends the wrong message to our allies. But is this really accurate? [...]

Rethink Afghanistan: How Long is Now?

Even as the war in Afghanistan becomes America’s Longest War, there is an end in sight. [...]

128 gays to be executed in Iraq

Their “crime”? Being gay.

Update: The site referenced by SFist is a blog with just a few posts, and it asks for donations. They cite an Amnesty article as their source, but Amnesty says that 128 will be executed, but does not mention gays. Not once.

Something here isn’t right.

A ‘fraud’ bigger than Madoff

Senior US soldiers investigated over missing Iraq reconstruction billions

“I believe the real looting of Iraq after the invasion was by US officials and contractors, and not by people from the slums of Baghdad,” said one US businessman active in Iraq since 2003.

The Surge ebbs

The Guardian discloses how the thousands of Iraqis hired by the US to hunt al-Qaeda are on the verge of going on strike because they haven’t been paid.

The incompetence and venality of the Bush Administration is quite extraordinary, isn’t it?

2018?

How could the Iraqi defense minister possibly prognosticate that Iraq will not be able to defend itself until 2018? That’s 10 years away! There’s no way a prediction like that can accurately be made so far in advance.

Answer: He’s throwing Bush a slow pitch, like a cabinet member of a government subservient and beholden [...]