Op-Ed: Obama's Strategic Blind Spot

How many troops here; what anti-terror tactics to employ there -- those questions miss the point.

By Andrew J. Bacevich
July 6, 2009

"Are there not other alternatives than sending our armies to chew barbed wire in Flanders?" During the bitter winter of 1914-15, the first lord of the Admiralty posed this urgent question to Britain's prime minister.The eighth anniversary of 9/11, now fast approaching, invites attention to a similar question: Are there not other alternatives than sending our armies to choke on the dust of Iraq and Afghanistan? Read more.

Op-Ed: Six Years Later, An Economics Lessons from U.S. Invasion of Iraq

Written by Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz
Friday, 03 July 2009 06:44

Going forward, the debacle hopefully has taught us to set aside money for our veterans, crack down on fraud and be honest about the costs of war.

July 2, 2009 - Tuesday, the U.S. "stood down" in Iraq, finalizing the pullout of 140,000 troops from Iraqi cities and towns -- the first step on the long path home. After more than six years, most Americans are war-weary, even though a smaller percentage of us have been involved in the actual fighting than in any major conflict in U.S. history. We have relegated the car and suicide bombings to the inside pages of newspapers, accepting at face value that the "surge" has calmed things down enough so we can finally leave the whole sorry Iraq adventure behind us. Read more.