Robert Farley

THIS HAD TO HAPPEN TO CANADIANS. Canadians in Afghanistan have met an unexpected obstacle: Canadian troops fighting Taliban militants in Afghanistan have stumbled across an unexpected and potent enemy — almost impenetrable forests of 10-foot-tall marijuana plants. Gen. Rick Hillier, chief of the Canadian defense staff, said Thursday that Taliban fighters were using the forests […]

DEVELOPMENTS HOME AND ABROAD.The biggest news on the international front of the North Korean crisis appears to be China’s apparent willingness to think about strong punitive measures. I’m not sure what to read into this, as “tough measures” undoubtedly means something radically different in Beijing than in Washington or Tokyo. Nevertheless, China is one of […]

1000 SHIP NAVY. Probably the biggest concern that the North Korean nuclear program presents is the problem of proliferation. One solution that’s been floated (so to speak) is the establishment of a maritime inspection regime that will limit Pyongyang’s ability to export nuclear technology. Any such effort would need to be multilateral. Coincidentally, the latest […]

OUR TERRORIST. Be sure to read Peter Kornbluh‘s Nation article on the curious case of Luis Posada Carriles. Posada is suspected of blowing up a Cuban jetliner in 1976, killing 73 people. He has a history of anti-Castro violence, and worked for the CIA during the 1960s and 1970s. Posada has been in the United […]

THE ARMY AND IRAQ. Although it almost certainly comes too late and with too little material support to affect operations in Iraq, this New York Times article (which Blake flagged this morning) highlights the fact that the response of the Army to the conflict in Iraq has been radically different than its reaction to failure […]

GROGGY. Is the Russian Navy finally beginning to come out of its fifteen year hibernation? Admiral Kuznetsov, the Russian Navy’s sole aircraft carrier, will apparently rejoin the fleet by the end of the year. Admiral Nahkimov, a Kirov class nuclear battlecruiser, is scheduled to return to service next year after eight years laid up. By […]

THE CORRUPT CCP. The New York Times reports that the party boss of Shanghai was detained in an anti-corruption probe last week, the first such major detention since 1995. The Times suggests that the move was intended to solidify Hu Jintao’s power base, and to intimidate leftover supporters of retired leader Jiang Zemin. The Western […]

SPICY MEATBALL. Isn’t it time we stop making threats that we have neither the intention nor the capability of carrying out? North Korea announced today that it plans to conduct its first nuclear test, sharply escalating its standoff with the United States and setting off ripples of alarm in Japan and South Korea… American officials […]

UNCIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS. Andrew Bacevich has a nice discussion of the dysfunctional state of civil-military relations during Donald Rumsfeld’s term at Secretary of Defense. State of Denial has served to turn over a nasty log in Washington. Donald Rumsfeld’s tenure as Secretary of Defense has two achievements worth remembering. After the Clinton years, someone needed […]

HUMANITARIAN. I think Yglesias goes too easy on Eric Posner’s Washington Post op-ed attack on humanitarian intervention. Posner invokes Somalia, Kosovo, and Iraq as evidence that “experience shows that humanitarian war is an oxymoron.” This can fairly be argued of Iraq 2003, but I’m unaware of any compelling evidence that the intervention in Somalia in […]