Ed's Blog

"Some people know everything, but that's all they know."

WHY THE BENGHAZI STORY WON’T GO AWAY

Benghazi

President Barack Obama has been adept at deflecting Republicans’ continuing questions about the 9/11/12 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Still, the story won’t go away because the explanations he and his administration have provided don’t add up, and a strong odor of cover up lingers in the air. It’s been five months since the Benghazi attack. Even if we accept the Obama administrations explanations for what happened before, during and after the attack, we still don’t know full story. What difference does it make, at this point, whether or not we know the full story? It makes a difference whenever the President of the United States attempts to deceive the American people.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE DRONE WARS

drone

During the George W. Bush administration, Democrats and anti-war groups derided enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) and the detention facility at Guantanamo as inconsistent with American values and a recruiting tool for al-Qai’da. Far fewer of those critics decry the Obama administration’s killing of al-Qai’da terrorists, including American citizens, with drone strikes, despite the collateral damage that is far more detrimental to winning friends in the Islamic world.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BENGHAZI: INCOMPETENCE AND NEGLIGENCE, OR SOMETHING MORE?

The more we learn about what happened before, during, and after the Benghazi attack, the more unanswered questions remain. The Obama administration is withholding answers to those questions. Americans have the right to know the whole truth and whether the President simply is covering up incompetence, negligence and the failure of his Middle East policy or something more.   (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ISOLATIONIST REPUBLICANS VS. INTERVENTIONIST DEMOCRAT

Are Republicans returning to their isolationist roots while Democrats under President Barack Obama become more interventionist?

Polling results and recent statements by Republican presidential hopefuls suggest that Republicans are becoming more isolationists. Conversely, while the far left remains staunchly anti-war and non-interventionist, President Barack Obama, in the mold of his post-World War II Democratic predecessors, appears to be leading Democrats, albeit unwillingly, toward greater interventionism. He seeks to maintain substantial U.S. forces in Iraq. He continues the war in Afghanistan. He’s intervened in Libya. And he is conducting not-so-secret wars in Pakistan and Yemen.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES: It’s Time for a Law That Authorizes Their Use

Khalid_Sheikh_Mohammed

Image via Wikipedia

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:


As we learned following the killing of Osama bin Laden, enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) played an important role in the CIA eventually tracking him to his Abbottabad, Pakistan, compound. It’s time to stop the spurious arguments about EITs and for Congress to enact a law permitting the President of the United States, and only the President, to authorize the use of well defined and limited EITs when he determines they are essential to the national security of the United States.  (More)

Filed under: Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

GENERAL PETRAEUS TO CIA: Is He the Right Person to Replace Panetta?

David H. Petraeus

Image via Wikipedia

Listen to Ed’s Audio Blog:


President Barack Obama has named CIA Director Leon Panetta to replace Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and GEN David Petraeus to replace Panetta. My April 18 column discussed the kind of person that should replace Gates and concluded that Panetta may not be the right person for the job. What about Petraeus; is he the right person to lead the CIA in these troubled times, and how will Osama Bin Laden’s death affect how Petraeus does his job.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CALIPHATE, COUPS, OR CONSTITUTIONS: Barack Obama’s Greatest Foreign Policy Challenge

2011 Egypt: Flags

Image by Imagery by Pete via Flickr

The sense of relief in the Obama administration and in Washington, D.C., was palpable the day after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak resigned and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt under Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (75) assumed power, promising free and fair democratic elections in September. Fears of the infamous Muslim Brotherhood’s ascendency waned and hopes for the spread of freedom and democracy were encouraged. The media, for the time being, will focus its cameras elsewhere; and Americans can return to worrying about jobs, deficits, and the economy. The outcome in Egypt, however, is far from settled, and the implications for governments from Algiers to Teheran ensure we will soon go down this road again. Washington now must assess multiple situations and move intelligently and effectively to influence them.  (More)

Filed under: National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RONALD REAGAN: What You Saw is What You Got

President Ronald Reagan speaking at a Rally fo...

Image via Wikipedia

Ronald Reagan’s 100th birthday Sunday provides an opportunity for people who respected and admired him to talk and write the President and his legacy. Some recall his great achievements—his role in ending the Cold War, Reganomics, and the revival of conservatism. Others reminisce about his acting and political careers before he became president. Others remember his storytelling, his boundless sense of optimism, and his deep and enduring love of America.

As someone who arrived in Washington, D.C., the year before President Reagan and who worked in the Department of Defense during his eight years in office, I remember a president who inspired and empowered the people that worked for him, didn’t require or create a bloated national-security bureaucracy, and who you didn’t have to analyze to understand. What you saw is what you got. (More)

Filed under: The Presidency, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

THE PERENNIAL CHINA-POLICY DEBATE: Conciliation vs. Carrots and Sticks

In this political cartoon, the United Kingdom,...

Image via Wikipedia

Bill Gertz of the Washington Times in his October 20 “Inside the Ring” column reports on the current China-policy debate within the Obama administration. He identifies two opposing groups—the “kowtow” group, and the “sad and disappointed” group. Twenty-five years ago we called them the “convert-them-to-Christianity-and-democracy” group and the “let’s-just-outsmart-them” group. The U.S. players in the perennial China-policy debate change as administrations come and go, but the fundamental differences between two classic approaches to China remain the same. (More)

Filed under: China-Taiwan, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VINCE FLYNN, DANIEL SYLVA, AND IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES

Cover of "The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel A...

I’m a big fan of Vince Flynn‘s Mitch Rapp series of novels.  Having read them all, I looked around for an author to read while I wait for Flynn’s latest, and perhaps last, book about the assassin. I just finished reading Daniel Silva‘s “The Rembrandt Affair.” I highly recommend both Flynn and Silva, although they are two very different writers. Interestingly, both Flynn’s “Extreme Measures” and the “Rembrandt Affair” (spoiler alert) involve destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities. I was struck by how plausible both of their schemes are. I know people in the CIA and other friendly foreign intelligence agencies read these books. More than one great idea for an intelligence operation began on the pages of a novel. If for some reason we should learn that Iran’s nuclear program experienced an unexplained catastrophic disaster I would immediately re-read Flynn and Sylva to see which one the event most resembled.

Filed under: Books, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

REDUCING THE DOD BUREAUCRACY: Less is More

Secretary Robert Gates wants to make sweeping budget cuts in overhead at the Department of Defense (DoD). For starters, he has proposed eliminating Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia, a 10 percent cut in contractors, the reduction of at least 50 generals and admirals, and the elimination of 150 Senior Executive Service (SES) civilians. I applaud Gates for his initiative. Not only will it save money for the needed modernization of weapons and equipment necessary to maintain our military capabilities, but it will make DoD more efficient and effective. (More)

Filed under: Healthcare, Military, National Security, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BLAIR’S RESIGNATION – A Symptom of a More Serious Problem

The resignation of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Dennis Blair, is a symptom of a more serious problem within the Obama administration than the failures of the DNI. It’s a problem that won’t disappear with Blair’s departure. Fixing it requires more than appointing the right replacement. it requires a hard look at the DNI position itself and how President Obama and the White House oversee it.

Read the full column

Filed under: National Security, Terrorism, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Share This Blog

Bookmark and Share

EWRoss on Twiter

RSS EWRoss.com RSS

  • FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA THE JIG IS UP May 19, 2013
    The trifecta of scandals plaguing President Obama and his administration will get a lot worse before they get better, casting a paralytic pall over his second term and greatly reducing the likelihood American voters will coronate Hillary Clinton as his successor.
  • IS BENGHAZI OBAMA''S ACHILLES' HEEL? May 5, 2013
    The testimony this week of three senior State Department officials before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee could provide information that will blow the Benghazi scandal wide open, or will it be a dud?
  • WHY MUSLIM TERRORISTS WANT TO KILL US AND YOUNG MUSLIM MEN WANT TO BECOME TERRORISTS April 29, 2013
    In the aftermath of the Boston bombings, media coverage has been full of people telling us we have to better understand why Muslim terrorists want to kill us and some young Muslim men living in America want to become terrorists, suggesting something about America is at the root of the problem.
  • WHO DO YOU TRUST ON GUN CONTROL? April 14, 2013
    The most often heard argument in the ongoing gun-control debate is whether or not gun control prevents gun crime. Gun-control advocates believe it does. Second Amendment advocates argue that it doesn't. A more cogent question when it comes to gun-control, however, is who do you trust?
  • TIME FOR REGIME CHANGE IN NORTH KOREA April 7, 2013
    The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the perfect example of what will happen when rogue regimes acquire nuclear weapons. They use them to intimidate their enemies, extort concessions from those that will negotiate with them, and sell the technology to the highest bidder. Regime change or war is the only way to stop them.
  • VIETNAM, IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN: LESSONS AMERICA NEVER LEARNS March 24, 2013
    The United States has fought three counterinsurgency wars in the past half century, all of which have or are about to turn out less than resoundingly victorious, to say the least. You would think American would get the hang of counterinsurgency warfare, getting it right eventually; but there are lessons American political leaders never learn.
  • POPE FRANCIS AND THE POWER OF THE PAPACY March 17, 2013
    In October 1978, the visiting CIA analyst teaching my National Security Affairs course at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, began class by asking, "What's the significance of this new Polish Pope?" Without waiting for an answer he said, "He will hasten the fall of the Soviet Union." Recalling that experience, I a […]
  • USEFUL IDIOTS, PROGRESSIVES AND SOCIALIST DICTATORS March 10, 2013
    Why are so many progressives attracted to socialist dictators like the late Hugo Chávez? Are they just "useful idiots," or is it their longing for a powerful person to rule without all the constraints of democratic government so they can impose their vision of the greater good?
  • REPUBLICANS MUST LEAD NOT JUST OBSTRUCT March 3, 2013
    Democrats and the news media have made much of the "civil war" within the Republican Party. In the aftermath of their 2012 defeat by President Barack Obama, Republicans are bickering among themselves over what went wrong, who's at fault, and how to revitalize the Republican brand. A much more serious war is taking place, however, between Presi […]
  • WELCOME HOME VETERAN: AND BY THE WAY, YOU MAY NOT POSSESS A FIREARM February 24, 2013
    The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has sent out letters to an unknown number of veterans with mental and physical disabilities informing them that they may be prohibited from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition.
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,635 other followers