National Defense

Surprise! President Clinton Lied!

By Marc Comtois | August 23, 2007 |

According to Newsweek: In September 2006, during a famous encounter with Fox News anchor Wallace, Clinton erupted in anger and waived his finger when asked about whether his administration had done enough to get bin Laden. “What did I do? What did I do?” Clinton said at one point. “I worked hard to try to…

The Press’ Predisposition to Believe the Worst about the Troops

By Mac Owens | July 25, 2007 |

The New Republic has come under fire by bloggers for a series of recent articles purportedly written by an active duty soldier in Iraq. The picture he draws of US soldiers is not a pretty one. Many commentators, including a number of folks who are serving, or have served, in Iraq, believe the articles, written…

The Hadithah Prosecution Unravels

By Mac Owens | July 14, 2007 |

In May of 2006, Time magazine reported that several Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division had killed more than 20 Iraqi civilians in the town of Hadithah in al-Anbar Province, in retaliation for the death of one of their comrades by a roadside bomb in November 2005. Almost immediately, opponents of the…

The Iraq War

By Mac Owens | July 14, 2007 |

My recent post excerpting a part of John McCain’s Senate speech on the consequences of withdrawing precipitously from Iraq elicited a number of thoughtful comments (in addition to a couple questioning the quality of my education. But as Tony Soprano would say, “whaddaya gonna do?”). The following comment to my earlier post raises what I…

Thinking about Iraq: McCain vs. RI’s Senators

By Mac Owens | July 13, 2007 |

I have my disagreements with John McCain regarding immigration and campaign finance, but when it comes to understanding the Iraq War, he—unlike our RI senators—is a real mensch. Here are some excerpts from his speech the other day. Let us keep in the front of our minds the likely consequences of premature withdrawal from Iraq.…