Just yesterday I finally stopped ignoring the Middle East and looked up a few things. Like who is Shia and who is Sunni. And who has nukes and where. And what exactly an Islamist is. It was....a useful exercise. Anyone else out there taking an interest in this juncture of history? I'm ready to be educated ( Read more... )

The Pentagon began tracking active duty military suicides in 2001. They begin rising in 2006, soared in 2009 then leveled. Military suicides hit a record high in 2012. Exceeded combat deaths in Afghanistan in 2012. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta calls it an epidemic. All branches are suffering.

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This is what General David Petraeus said to Joe Scarborough (on MSNBC 12/2/09) when he asked if Obama had been "dithering" about our course of action:

This process was actually quite good, Joe. It was a very substantive discussion. Everybody's assumptions and views were tested. I think out of this have come sharpened objectives, a very good ( Read more... )

I have a thought about Obama and his new move to increase funding for our military engagement in Afghanistan. MoveOn has taken the position that it is "wrong" to escalate the war and that we should keep our money at home and deal with our own crises before spending our wealth across the globe. I happen to agree with this argument, but I also see ( Read more... )

Just discovered The Real News Network. WOW! It's a group of people doing intelligent reporting that is non-corporate and non-partisan. They're offering their reports on youtube for now, and begging for money so that they can get a television slot. I would LOVE to see this kind of news broadcast into homes across the US. I may actually send ( Read more... )

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