Terrorism | Hope is Not a Foreign Policy

Archive for the ‘Terrorism’ Category

Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 1:28pm

Nidal Malik Hasan and The Perils of Political Correctness

Posted by Tom Skypek in Current Events, Terrorism

Federal law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that discussed suicide bombings and other threats.

One of the Web posts that authorities reviewed is a blog that equates suicide bombers with a soldier throwing himself on a grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

“To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause,” said the Internet posting. “Scholars have paralled (sic) this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help…

No Comments Tags: Fort Hood Shooting, Nidal Malik Hasan, Political Correctness

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 10:05pm

Overseas Contingency Operation

Posted by Tom Skypek in Afghanistan, American Foreign Policy, Iraq, Terrorism

Overseas Contingency Operation–that’s the Obama administration’s new name for the conflict formerly known as the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Perhaps GWOT wasn’t the best descriptor for the global conflict against Islamic Extremism, but it seemed to capture the key elements (such as the scope of the conflict and adversary). If anything, it lacked specificity in that it did not identify the adversary as clearly as it could have. From FOXNews.com:

The Obama administration has ordered an end to use of the phrase “Global War on Terror,” a label adopted by the Bush administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

In a memo sent this week from the Defense Department’s office of security…

No Comments Tags: Global War on Terror, Overseas Contingency Operation, Political Correctness, War on Terror

Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 7:16pm

“Ladies and Gentlemen”

Posted by Tom Skypek in American Foreign Policy, Terrorism, The American Presidency

No Comments Tags: Joe Biden

Saturday, August 9th, 2008 at 4:29pm

The Politico-Military Objectives of the Georgian and Russian Leadership

Posted by Reggie Gibbs in Iran, Russia, Terrorism

I wrote to some of you yesterday about what I thought the objectives were for both sides of this conflict. I still think these hold pretty much true. Just to rehash:

Russia: Toss the Georgians out of South Ossetia, and embarrass them enough so that they (the Russians) maintain de facto control over South Ossetia, while leveraging their position in Abkhazia and throughout the southern Caucasus region in general

Georgia: Bloody the Russians bad enough, or make the case that they (the Russians) have committed a.) multiple human rights violations and/or war crimes and b.) overreached in their operations, that the international community will get involved and apply pressure to put a truly international and neutral peacekeeping force in South Ossetia. If…

2 Comments Tags: Georgia, Russia, Russia Today, South Ossetia

Monday, June 30th, 2008 at 5:06am

Lieberman: Enemies Will Test New President

Posted by Tom Skypek in Terrorism

Yesterday on Face the Nation Sen. Joe Lieberman argued that our enemies–namely al Qaeda and Iran–are likely to test the next president early in the administration. He noted that the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the attacks of September 11, 2001 occurred in the first years of the Clinton and Bush administrations:

We’re in a war against Islamist extremists who attacked us on 9/11. They’ve been trying to attack us many, many ways since then. We’ve been very fortunate as a result of 9/11 reform legislation, which Senator McCain championed; a lot of good work by people who…

No Comments Tags: Joe Lieberman