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Widening The War
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan —
The Bush administration goes for broke in its final weeks:
We have entered a new phase in the war on terror. In July, according to three administration sources, the Bush administration formally gave the military new power to strike terrorist safe havens outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. Before then, a military strike in a country like Syria or Pakistan would have required President Bush's personal approval. Now, those kinds of strikes in the region can occur at the discretion of the incoming commander of Central Command (Centcomm), General David Petraeus. ...
The doctor’s unpleasant medicine
Yourish.com —
... Major General Kevin Bergner, the former spokesman for Multinational Forces Iraq, said in October 2007.
Bergner said several of the documents found with Muthanna included a list of 500 al Qaeda fighters from “a range of foreign countries that included Libya, Morocco, Syria, Algeria, Oman, Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, France and the United Kingdom.”
Eli Lake (via memeorandum) shows how this represents a legitimate escalation of the war on terror.
We have entered a new phase in the war on ...
Striking Syria--A step back for American Foreign Policy?
The Washington Note —
... In a fascinating article, The New Republic yesterday described how Sunday''s strike is part of a wider effort from the White House, which has recently given US Central Command jurisdiction to conduct attacks on the sovereign territory of other countries, ranging from Pakistan and Syria to Somalia, Yemen, and even potentially Iran. ...
Syria, Iraq, And The Misnamed War On Terror
Wonk Room —
... on is the result of the U.S. action in Syria, but it doesn’t seem unlikely. Praising the Syria strike, Eli Lake declares that “ we have entered a new phase in the war on terror .” In July, according to three administration sources, the Bush administration formally gave the military new power to strike terrorist safe havens outside of Iraq and Afghanistan. Before then, a military strike in a country like Syria or Pakistan would have required President Bush’s personal approval. Now, those kinds of strikes in the region can occur at the discretion of the incoming commander of ...
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Tell Me Where their Bombs Will Fall
Obsidian Wings —
... surveys a sampling of the most prominent theories, as well as the likely costs. Meanwhile, Eli Lake, in reliable fashion, provides the view of events from the neocon camp: that this military action is one of the first manifestations of a new doctrine of soldiers without borders. ...
Petraeus and Syria
Lawyers, Guns and Money —
... have been pleased with recent overtures from the Syrians, and cautiously optimistic about the potential to build on that cooperation... But then, despite this progress and the continuation of peace talks between Israel and Syria, the Bush administration went ahead with a cross border raid and airstrikes aimed at targets in Syrian territory. Instead of supporting and expanding the diplomatic process, the Bush administration opted for a show of force. On Tuesday, Eli Lake wrote: In July, according to three administration sources, the Bush ...
Will We Wake Up in 1933?
Hit & Run —
... Obama might show "restraint" (whatever that means) and be an astoundingly clever guy, but perhaps it is time for the Obamacons and the Obamatarians to face the prospect of four years of big government liberalism, to accept that American foreign policy probably won't be any less interventionist (just fronted by people lacking that Rumsfeldian bombast). Perhaps we should start thinking about a big, messy healthcare bureaucracy, the victory of ...
