On Friday when President Obama held his end-of-the-year press conference, the topic of the Sony hack and the withdrawal of “The Interview” came up. The president said that his administration would respond to the hack, which he considered a criminal action, but was not going to say how it would carry out that response. Then […]
Last month, I linked to a powerful, thoughtful piece by David Masciotra that criticized military worship, in which he wrote that American soldiers who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan haven’t done so to protect our freedoms, that not every soldier is a hero if you include the large number who have been charged with […]
Before the CIA torture report was released by Dianne Feinstein and the House Intelligence Committee, Republicans like Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrats like White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest warned that the report could pose a great risk, causing violence towards US facilities and individuals around the world. It’s been a week, and we haven’t […]
The release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture reminded me of a fascinating guest from six years ago. When I posted the audio of that conversation, I wrote: In the debate over using torture in interrogating detainees in Iraq and at Guantanamo, we’ve heard from a lot of armchair quarterbacks — pundits […]
Some blunt words about the wars the US has spent the last 13 years fighting, from a guy who should know. He’s retired Lt. Gen. Daniel Bolger, who oversaw our efforts in Afghanistan, and says that, after the countless lives lost and blood spilled, all we have to show for it is two failed wars […]
For over 20 years, Robert Baer was a CIA case officer — or, more accurately, an assassin. In his new book, “The Perfect Kill,” he recounts some of his adventures (including going after Saddam Hussein in 1995) and offers tips for other assassins on how to do the job better. When he joined me on […]