Your source for US foreign policy.
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November 19, 2019
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East Baghdad, January 25, 2007. Newly minted 1st Lieutenant Danny Sjursen, all of 23-years-old, led his scout platoon – the "Ghost Riders” – on yet another meaningless presence patrol in an increasingly aimless war, at about 9:00pm local time in the Al Amin neighborhood of Shia-majority East Baghdad. We were no longer allowed to call them "presence patrols,” of course. From now on, each patrol had to – imagine that! – have a specific mission, a purpose, something, you know, worth dying for. The army, mind you, is traditionally masterful at bending language to its tactically fashionable whims. So, while the nomenclature changed, the nature of the actual patrols themselves remained remarkably consistent. From the perspective of my young privates and sergeants – laying their lives on the line for some $30,000 annually – nothing changed…not a lick.
— By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)
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Sometime this year, the 19th in America’s longest, most futile, war in Afghanistan – really any day now – a young man (or woman) will be killed in a war older than he is. In these dark times, it feels like an inevitability, but it’s not quite – if only just. History rolls along, certainly, but its inherent contingency is evidenced by the innumerable actions of human beings. That 18-year-old soldier doesn’t have to die in an unnecessary, unwinnable war. Sure, that decision – or series of decisions – rests mainly with the rich and powerful, the political-military leadership class. Still, We the People, have a roll to play; a vital one at that.
— By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)
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In a move seen as a further blow to Palestinian hopes for statehood, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the US is repudiating the 1978 State Department legal opinion that the Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine are in violation of international law.
The Fourth Geneva Convention is very clear about settlements being illegal, as it explicitly bars an occupying power from transferring its own civilian population into occupied territory.
— By Jason Ditz
ven with all the wars the US is presently involved in and all the shady activity that goes with that, it’s fairly unusual for the military to get around to charging personnel with war crimes.
— By Jason Ditz
— By Maj. Danny Sjursen, USA (ret.)
The U.S. says it wasn’t a coup.
Trump’s official statement "applauds" the Bolivian regime change for preserving democracy. Trump identifies the event as "a significant moment in democracy" because it stymied Bolivian President Evo Morales’ attempt "to override the Bolivian constitution and the will of the people. . .."
— By Ted Snider
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