Robert Farley

NOW WITH THE PIGEONS. Coming hard upon the heels of the Chinese anti-satellite test, and the report of US Navy foolin’ around with sharks, it appears that China is attempting to create an army of cyborg pigeons. Scientists with the Robot Engineering Technology Research Center of east China’s Shandong University of Science and Technology say […]

MORE ON THE EFP. David at Danger Room has a couple very good posts on the possible origins of the EFPs being found in Iraq. He points out, as Andrew Cockburn noted last week, that the construction of these devices is easily within the means of any Iraqi insurgent with access to a machine shop. […]

BRIEFLY, ON PIRACY. Tom Zeller arrives late at the piracy party. Piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Straits of Malacca has received a lot of attention in the past three or four years. The pirates, typically, travel in small gangs in small boats armed with AKs and occasionally RPGs. Most modern cargo […]

KEEPING THE OPTIONS OPEN. I’m very late to this debate, but since Ezra asked… I don’t think that the argument that a Democratic presidential candidate needs to keep his/her options open regarding war against Iran holds much water. The logic behind this arguments seems to go like this; if Barack Obama or whoever else declares […]

WASHINGTON: THE FIRST DECIDER. I find George W. Bush’s tendency to butcher presidential history one of his most irritating traits. Praising George Washington’s unbreakable will, ability to stand up to multiple challenges, and belief that freedoms ought not to be enjoyed by American’s alone, President Bush stopped just short of asserting that President Washington would […]

PARTY LIKE IT’S 1983. In response to U.S. plans to base anti-ballistic missile interceptors in Poland and the Czech Republic, a Russian general yesterday hinted that Russia might withdraw from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Force Treaty, and even start building SS-20s again. General Solovtsov also said that Poland and the Czech Republic will find themselves […]

5000? Make sure to read the NYT article on the slides generated during planning for the Iraq war. The slides themselves are available from GWU. Hilzoy has good commentary. The story, incidentally, is written by Michael Gordon, well known arrogant stenographer and best friend of the administration… –Robert Farley

MORE ON THE DEAL. The Times has the details on the deal. Essentially, the U.S. and the five party group will be trading electricity, fuel oil, food, and some diplomatic goodies for a verifiable freeze on North Korea’s nuclear program. The freeze won’t be wholly verifiable, but the agreement will shut down North Korea’s plutonium […]

NORTH KOREA TALKS. After some some mild hope for progress, the nuclear talks with North Korea appear to be bogging down again. North Korea has decided to become instransigent, demanding that shipments of fuel oil and electricity be started before an agreement is reached, rather than as part of a negotiated deal. This is roughly […]

MISSILES. In response to the assertion that Iran may be supplying surface-to-air missiles to Iraqi Shiite insurgents, David Hambling at Defense Tech has a good run down on the variety and capabilities of shoulder launched anti-aircraft weaponry. –Robert Farley