“Bite me” is the dismissive nickname that General McChrystal’s staff officers gave Vice President Joseph Biden, admittedly a frequent subject of mockery in the US because of his many gaffs and his desperate attempts to regain a long lost youthful appearance via hair plugs, facelifts and the like. Vice President Biden had staked out a position of caution in the great 2009 debate ov…

President Obama and other senior US officials make constant reference to America being “a nation at war.” This is politically necessary to say and obviously the case because the US has nearly a hundred thousand troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan and reports combat casualties daily. More than a trillion dollars have been spent on this effort variously labeled the Long War, the str…

The state of Arizona recently enacted a statute which allowes police officers to inquire about the immigration status of individuals they stop for other infractions of the law such as speeding or failure to yield for a pedestrian. Although requesting documentation about residency and citizenship may seem like a routine law enforcement practice in many parts of the world, the Ar…

A House of Commons committee recently claimed that the UK had lost its “Special Relationship” with the US. The committee argued that the UK had few of the benefits attributed to the Special Relationship, especially the ability to influence US policy, and therefore Britain should to say no to the relations’ obligations, especially the perceived need to become involved in US milit…

It is seven years since a US led coalition invaded Iraq, deposing Saddam Hussein and becoming involved in a long, costly stabilization operation that is supposedly about to end soon with the withdrawal of US combat units. More than 4,700 coalition troops, 4,385 of them Americans, have died so far in this effort. The Iraqi toll is unknown, but surely is in the tens of thousands. Horri…

It is getting boring. American officials make a stout plea for NATO assistance in some out of area effort, praising the alliance as vital to the security of the members and the globe. Meetings are held at which NATO officials underline the importance of the mission and its relevance to the alliance. Goals are set. The pundits agree that this call for united action is a vital test for NA…

A special election in Massachusetts held to select the replacement for Ted Kennedy as US Senator has had great political impact in the US with the victory of Scott Brown, the Republican candidate. The Kennedys, first JFK and then Teddy (with retainers inserted when technically required), had controlled the seat for 57 years. No Republican had held a Massachusetts seat (each stat…

Answering a question from that professor of the airwaves Oprah Winfrey, President Obama gave himself a B+ as a grade for his first year in office. This proved, as a friend said, that he did indeed attend Columbia and Harvard, Ivy League universities renowned in America for their grade inflation and self-congratulatory style.
To be fair to President Obama, however, 2009 was not a te…

A recent report indicated that President Obama had finally made a security policy related decision—not on his Afghanistan strategy which is yet to be announced– but rather on whether or not his administration would seek to have the US sign the treaty banning the production and use of anti-personnel land mines, a treaty that 156 other nations have already signed. Fir…

The selection of Barack Obama as the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize belittles the President. Everybody knows that with just a few months in office that he has not had time to accomplish anything significant. His speeches may be inspiring, but they are likely written by others and usually express broad, vague aspirations that are neither unusual nor likely to be fulfilled s…