Thomas Ricks points out that this isn’t a war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and now Yemen, it’s starting to feel like a war against an entire region. Why doesn’t anyone ever tell me these things? I knew the United States conducted drone strikes a few years ago, including one that killed an American citizen on [...]
Thomas E. Ricks
Ducking Responsibility
Bob Woodward takes over Thomas Rick’s blog and talks about Donald Rumsfeld’s memoir. Rumsfeld’s memoir is one big clean-up job, a brazen effort to shift blame to others — including President Bush — distort history, ignore the record or simply avoid discussing matters that cannot be airbrushed away. It is a travesty, and I think [...]
Another American War / Another Arab State
Thomas Ricks discusses six things to consider when thinking about an American no-fly zone over Libya. Here are some of the issues that need to be examined. Anyone who advocates a no-fly zone should be required to answer them. I wish everyone talking about imposing a no-fly zone on Libya would take a deep breath. [...]
Christmas Gift Ideas for the Emotionally Distant Father
A friend of mine/arch-nemesis has drawn her father and father-in-law for this year’s Christmas celebration and demanded a Christmas gift guide for them. While I am generally compliant towards requests from friends who have incriminating stories about me, this one is a hard one as I don’t have a relationship with my dad * and [...]
10 Most Common Strategic Blunders
Since I mentioned Thomas Ricks the other day, I thought I would post a link to his 10 most common strategic blunders from his blog at Foreign Policy 1. Failure to recognize or take seriously the scarcity of resources. 2. Mistaking strategic goals for strategy. 3. Failure to recognize or state the strategic problem. 4. [...]
Tories fight back on Kinsella lawsuit
The Canadian Press is reporting that the Tories are fighting back against Warren Kinsella’s lawsuit. The Conservatives sued the Liberals last year to silence allegations relating to an alleged $1-million life insurance offer for the vote of Independent MP Chuck Cadman. But the party now says the cut and thrust of political discourse shouldn’t be [...]
Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks
While in Chapters in Regina, I picked up a copy of Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks. It is a mesmerizing read if for just the amount of incompetence within the White House, the Pentagon, and the provisional government in Iraq (Paul Bremer comes across as an incompetent idiot). Basically it tells the story of intelligence [...]
