A helicopter carrying 31 Americans, including 22 Navy SEALS, was shot down while on a mission in Afghanistan to rescue other US forces engaged in a firefight. The SEALS are reported to have belonged to the same unit as the … Continue reading →
It’s the sort of article the New Yorker often does well—a detailed description of something. In this case, the “something” is the planning and execution of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. There are few surprises there, but one … Continue reading →
SEAL reservist Eric Greitens on SEAL training: What kind of man makes it through Hell Week?… Some men who seemed impossibly weak at the beginning of SEAL training””men who puked on runs and had trouble with pull-ups””made it. Some men … Continue reading →
Fragmentary information is slowly emerging about the Navy Seal operation that got Osama Bin Laden. It should be fascinating to learn more. The tale—if ever learned in its entirety, which I doubt will occur for security reasons—would no doubt rival … Continue reading →
Steven Metz wonders whether Libya marks the end of NATO’s effectiveness. What he describes is a military action by committee, which doesn’t make sense as a way to fight even a limited war. But what he fails to address is … Continue reading →
A few Obama supporters and generalized liberal/leftist others are discovering that Obama lied about the extent of our involvement in Libya, having already (allegedly) authorized covert CIA operatives to offer support—and, I would sincerely hope, to figure out who the … Continue reading →
A couple of weeks ago I had some fun with poetic voices of the past, and in the comments section “Beverly” alerted me to the fact that a recording exists of Alfred Lord Tennyson reading his poem “Charge of the … Continue reading →
Mubarak says that the reports of his resignation are greatly exaggerated. You may note that when I wrote earlier today about the predictions that he’d be leaving, I hedged a bit by saying, “That’s the report, anyway.” My skepticism came … Continue reading →
I guess it’s not enough that we’re deeply indebted to China, and getting more so each day. Now comes the news that China has nearly perfected a missile aimed at our supercarriers: …an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng … Continue reading →
The story du jour—and for probably quite a few more jours—is the Wikileaks dump of classified information on the war in Afghanistan. Revealing previously classified information about ongoing wars has become a sort of cottage industry, with the word “classified” … Continue reading →
If this is true, then McChrystal should have lost his job for an excess of misplaced and shockingly naive trust, if nothing else: A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, Air Force Lt. Col. Edward T. Sholtis, acknowledged that Hastings, like … Continue reading →
…on the subject of the press, he’d have just said “no” when reporter Hastings came to call: I hate newspapermen…I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. Not to mention this: If I had my choice I would … Continue reading →