Trump's Dangerous Escalation with Iran
Christopher A. PreblePresident Trump ' s decision to orderthe killing of Iranian General Qassim Suleimani threatens to draw the United States even more deeply into a region that has already claimed too much American blood and treasure.The international reaction was swift.Futures on global stock markets fell, and oil prices spiked, in anticipation of a wider conflict. In Iraq, where popular sentiment had once been building against Iranian influence in the country, that anger is now sure to be directed at the American presence, and thus constitutes a grave danger to Americans serving there and throughout the region. Writin...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - January 3, 2020 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
Iranian Commander Soleimani Killed: RAND Experts React
The White House has confirmed that a U.S. airstrike authorized by President Trump killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani just outside the Baghdad airport in Iraq. We ' ve rounded up how RAND researchers reacted to the news. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - January 2, 2020 Category: Health Management Authors: RAND Corporation Source Type: blogs
A digression
But one I probably ought to take. The Clinton impeachment is irrelevant to the present situation, which concerns a completely different factual basis. It is even less relevant to the question of the current Resident ' s mental and moral condition and his fitness for office, which is what my previous post is about. In other words, it ' s an attempt to change the subject, a typical troll tactic.So I ' ll take the subject change right here. Regarding the exact nature of Mr. Clinton ' s misconduct, I believe that Paula Jones initiated the activity. I don ' t think Clinton demanded it of her and I don ' t think he promised her ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - December 26, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
It's Not True That Impeachment Paralyzes Government (Unfortunately)
It ’s a “solemn” and “sad” affair, impeachment: there are so many reasonsto wear black. That ’s what the pols and pundits tell us, anyway. Tonight’s House vote will unleash a host of plagues: stoking partisan furies, rattling the markets, and— worst of all from this town’s perspective—distracting Congress and the president from doing“the people’s business.” We ’re in for a period of “squandered months during which official Washington is pulled apart,”U.S. News ’s Kenneth Walsh warned in late September: brace yourself for“The Coming Impeachment Paralysis”! Some of us don ’t find tha...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 18, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Iraq at the Crossroads
The protests gripping Iraq pose an extraordinary challenge to Baghdad ' s political leadership, which must move the country ahead or step aside. Unless it finds the will to compromise for the common good, the governing class could risk thrusting the country into civil war. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - December 17, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Linda Robinson Source Type: blogs
The War in Afghanistan: Feeding Optimism on a Diet of Despair
John MuellerLast week theWashington Post ran a series on “The Afghanistan Papers” based on newly-released documents that detail military decision-making during the lengthy, and apparently endless, war in Afghanistan. Stressed is the disconnect found between the dismal realities on the ground that were well known to military leaders and their unrealist ic public optimism about progress in the war.The documents and the analysis by Craig Whitlock in thePost add a great deal to the discussion, but both the dismal realities and the disconnect were already pretty well known as John Glaser and I argued earlier this year in a ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 16, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: John Mueller Source Type: blogs
All I Wanted for Christmas Was a National Defense Authorization Act
Brandon ValerianoWe finally have an NDAA! This is exciting news for many, mainly because operating under a Continuing Resolution is detrimental to national defense, since it funds past priorities without updating our outlays in light of evolving events and challenges.The FY 2020NDAA includes some provisions that might excite us, such federal parental leave, more support for child care within the military, and a pay increase for the military to retain the best and increase social services. Other contributions are less than enthralling (a paragraph on firefighting foam?!?).AsChris Preble notes, one of the main failings of ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 10, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Brandon Valeriano Source Type: blogs
NDAA 2020: Congress Neglects Its Responsibility Once Again
Christopher A. PrebleThere ’s much to hate in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2020, which passed out of conference committee late yesterday evening (storyhere,summary in .pdf here). I suspect my colleagues will unpack or attack some of the details, but I ’m generally annoyed by the top line – $738 billion – at a time whenthe annual federal budget deficit surpasses $1 trillion. The utter failure of elected officials in both parties to come to grips with our fiscal catastrophe, and align our overly ambitious strategy with our obvious resource constraints is frustrating in the extreme. If this NDAA...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 10, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
War, what is it good for?
Some of my 2 1/2 long-time followers know that I maintained the Today in Iraq and Afghanistan blog for many years. I ' ve set it aside for a while, out of a general feeling of despair. But now I do want to say something about theWaPos ' s publication of the report of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. SIGAR reports frequently featured in Today in Iraq and Afghanistan.IG Sopko has been speaking truth to power for many years, mostly exposing the utter failure of development projects. But now he has done a comprehensive assessment of the goals and accomplishments of the United States ' longest war. ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - December 10, 2019 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan: “The American People Have Constantly Been Lied To.”
John GlaserTheWashington Post has obtained a huge cache of internal government documents containing hundreds of interviews with U.S. officials on the war in Afghanistan. The documents reveal a broadly shared official view that America ’s longest war has been a failure, essentially from the start. Over the years, official assessments of the war were consistently positive, optimistic, hopeful, and confident in the progress being made on the ground. But behind closed doors, official assessments were starkly different.Post reporter Craig Whitlock writes:Several of those interviewed described explicit and sustained efforts by...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 9, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: John Glaser Source Type: blogs
Big Government Conservatism Returns
John SamplesDonald Trump ran and won by opposing many traditional Republican candidates and ideas. However, for two years or more, his administration seemed a lot like a traditional Republican administration though its President behaved rather differently than other presidents of either party. Now intellectuals are coming forth with manifestos articulating Trump ’s revolution three years after the barricades were stormed. For example, we haveFor Real American Greatness, A Tech New Deal.Readers interested in policy will be disappointed, even frustrated with this manifesto. It has one concrete proposal – prohibit Faceboo...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 6, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: John Samples Source Type: blogs
The Arab Spring in the Upside-Down
Where the original Arab Spring protests removed authoritarian leaders, the current demonstrators in Iraq and Lebanon are trying to topple popularly elected governments. This could have dramatic implications for the future of representative democracy in the Middle East. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - November 20, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Jordan R. Reimer Source Type: blogs
Illegal Immigrants in Europe
Alex NowrastehPew Research Center recently released a wonderful newreport that estimates the illegal immigrant resident population in European Union and European Free Trade Association (EU-EFTA) countries. This is the first systematic report to estimate Europe ’s illegal immigrant population along the lines that Pew and others use to estimate the U.S. illegal immigrant population. Illegal immigrants are a much larger population in the United States than in Europe.Pew estimates that there are 3.9 million to 4.8 million illegal immigrants in EU-EFTA as of 2017. Those illegal immigrants come from countries outside of the EU...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 15, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Don't Overestimate the Power of Iraqi Protests
As protests in Iraq grow, a“good news” narrative seems to be developing that they are a significant blow to Iranian influence. But the bigger story is not who is up and who is down between Washington and Tehran; it is that yet another Arab public has taken to the streets demanding change. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - November 13, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Jeffrey Martini; Ariane M. Tabatabai Source Type: blogs
Concerning the Killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and U.S. Counterterrorism Policy
Christopher A. PrebleUpon hearing the news that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been killed, I issued the following statement:Even President Donald Trump ’s harshest critics should welcome the news thatISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid in northwestern Syria Saturday evening. The operation, President Trump noted in his statement, reflects the bravery and professionalism of the men and women in the U.S. military, as well as U.S. intelligence agencies. President Trump also credited Russia, Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and the Syrian Kurds for varying levels of support.With the passage of time, Baghdadi ’s...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 27, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Christopher A. Preble Source Type: blogs
