Robert Farley

Dan Drezner makes the case that Obama has good prospects for improving the trans-Atlantic relationship, especially regarding Afghanistan: On Afghanistan, for example, the problem the Bush administration always had with getting more allied support was the perception among many allies that the U.S. wanted NATO help in that theatre so they could focus on Iraq. […]

Somali pirates appear to have determined that passenger and crew ransoms are the most lucrative part of their business, and they’re targeting accordingly: Earlier today gCaptain received reports from Australia that the M/V Athena was attacked by 29 pirate boats while transiting the Gulf Of Aden. This was the second cruise ship to be attacked […]

It turns out that Barack Obama’s grandfather, a former British soldier, was imprisoned and tortured by the British Army during the Mau Mau Uprising: Barack Obama’s grandfather was imprisoned and brutally tortured by the British during the violent struggle for Kenyan independence, according to the Kenyan family of the US President-elect. Hussein Onyango Obama, Mr […]

The Wall Street Journal has an excellent article tracking the movement of the Mumbai terrorists before the attacks of last week. The connection with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani terrorist group traditionally focused on Kashmir, appears fairly clear. Just two days before hitting the city, the group of 10 terrorists who ravaged India’s financial capital communicated with […]

Like, the ONE time that Germany is fighting on our side in a war, they have to go and get all incompetent: Breaking with a military tradition of keeping silent about policy, a top German general has branded his country’s efforts in Afghanistan a failure, singling out its poor record in training the Afghan police […]

John Noonan at The Weekly Standard raises the issue of poor Indian counter-terrorism doctrine: Five hostages and two terrorists were killed in the Indian commando raid on Chabad House. That’s a losing score by anyone’s tally. My guess is that the Mumbai attacks will affect the Indians in the same way that it affected the […]

Prospect alum Matt Duss and I talk piracy at Bloggingheads: –Robert Farley

David Axe: The commando-style attacks that killed some 200 people in Mumbai, India, last week began with a small-scale amphibious invasion that bears uncanny resemblance to recent pirate attacks off the African coast. It appears that the terrorists seized a fishing trawler, killed its captain, and used it as a mothership to launch the small […]

Edward Hugh has been doing fantastic work (available at Fistful of Euros) describing the challenges presented by the financial crisis to various European economies. He suggests that Latvia (along with several others) will be forced to devalue its currency in response to the crisis. Unfortunately, it appears that voicing such an opinion in Latvia incurs […]

Who are the Somali pirates? Why is piracy surging now? Why don’t merchant ships just arm themselves? If a question can’t be answered in an animated short, then it’s just not a good question… –Robert Farley