Photos from the Front Lines

Combat photographer Michael Yon gives a name to helicopter halos. Take a look at the remarkable images of the Kopp-Etchells Effect.

Quote of the Day: "Unprecedented Disarray"

Hope and change. Well, change, anyway:

If anything, the international situation Obama faced when he assumed the presidency was, in many respects, relatively auspicious. Despite the financial crisis and the recession that followed, never since John F. Kennedy has an American president assumed high office with so much global goodwill. The war in Iraq, which had done so much to bedevil Bush’s presidency, had been won thanks to a military strategy Obama had, as a senator, flatly opposed. For the war in Afghanistan, there was broad bipartisan support for large troop increases. Not even six months into his presidency, Obama was handed a potential strategic game changer when a stolen election in Iran led to a massive popular uprising that, had it succeeded, could have simultaneously ended the Islamic Republic and resolved the nuclear crisis. He was handed another would-be game changer in early 2011, when the initially peaceful uprising in Syria offered an opportunity, at relatively little cost to the U.S., to depose an anti-American dictator and sever the main link between Iran and its terrorist proxies in Lebanon and Gaza.

Incredibly, Obama squandered every single one of these opportunities. 

Squandered or, in some cases, "threw away with both hands."

A Christian Convert in Afghanistan

On the run.

Who Could Possibly Have Seen This Coming?

In the wake of the Bowe Bergdahl deal debacle, the Taliban says it'll kidnap more people.  Golly gee willikers, now why on Earth would they think that that would be a good plan?  I have no idea. < / sarcasm >

Friday Fun Video: Swedish Marines in Afghanistan

Warrior poets.

Giving Up On Afghanistan

Hey, I thought Afghanistan was the "good" war.  Apparently not.  Dignified Rant has the link to former secretary of defense Robert Gates' new book.  What he says about Obama's approach to Afghanistan is as unsurprising as it is infuriating.

A Brave Marine, a Beautiful Blonde, and a Sweet Reunion

Sealed with a kiss too.  I think I have something in my eye.  

Happy Holidays from the Military Working Dogs of Afghanistan

I know I'm a day late for Christmas, but the pups are so adorable that I'm sure you (a) won't mind and (b) would be more annoyed with me if I didn't share them!  More here, where there's info if you would like to send a care package.

Two Journalists on the Middle East and Foreign Policy

The always-interesting Michael Totten has a new article on the persistence of the Islamist threat, while Canadian journalist Terry Glavin in his piece "On the Front Line of a Global Struggle" surveys a number of good books.  He also notes this portion of an interview chronicled in one of those books:

“S.D.”, in Iran, writes directly to those of us who live in the West: “While you are fighting for the rights of pandas over there, people are still being stoned to death here in my country.”

That's more perspective than you'll get in many a classroom or thinktank these days.  RELATED: Lara Logan on Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Lara Logan on Al Qaeda & the Taliban in Afghanistan

CBS chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan has something to say.  You may remember that she was assaulted in Cairo when she was covering the Tahrir Square unrest.  By the way, that charming accent is South African.  Note: she's not technically giving a report as much as sharing her perspective and opinion, though some people seem to have a problem with that.

 

RELATED: Richard Engel in Egypt.  See too Dignified Rant's post "Is Afghanistan Doomed?"

Quote of the Day: Lileks on Culture

James Lileks, always worth your time, has a firecracker of an essay.  Read the whole thing, of course.  Here is a blurb:

Forgive me if I note that one culture has a debate about allowing gays to marry, and another that seems to have concluded a debate about whether they should live. 

Yeah, and somehow we're the bad guys if you listen to too many pundits and opinion makers.

Quote of the Day: A Dutch General on War and Peace

I'm not even going to try to pick one line from General Peter van Uhm's talk.  Just watch this.  

 

Post-RNC: One Huge Oversight

I was going to say something in retrospect, but Dignified Rant beat me to it.  I absolutely do think that the Romney campaign should run on the economy as its main argument, but we can't forget that we do have military engagements in progress.  What bothers me even more, though, is a nagging feeling that Romney hasn't formulated - or perhaps fully expressed if he has formulated - his position.  UPDATE: Still, the upshot is that the more I learn about Romney the person, the more I'm warming to him (a good speech certainly didn't hurt).  The reverse is proving true about Obama, though.

Whitewashing Afghan History Textbooks

Teaching history?  YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.  Just look at this plaintive lament by one Afghan teacher:

"One of the primary objectives of studying history is not to repeat past mistakes. If students will not learn about past violence, how will they avoid it in future?"

Indeed.

Rock On: Afghan Stone Carvers Defy the Taliban

Back to the Bamiyan valley (aka the scene of the crime).  Here's a great quote:

"During this course we realised we had much more ability for working with stone than we could have imagined, and we understood we can do so much more," said Jawed Mohammadi, a 20-year-old history student at the university, who used the week to chisel out a human face. "The buddhas were destroyed, but maybe we can build them again."

More of this, please.

Three Cups of Skulduggery: Greg Mortenson

Pay up.  Read the whole thing.

Taliban Leader Turns Self In, Demands Finder's Fee

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Thoughts on Afghanistan -- Mission Incomplete

Thoughts?

Afghanistan: Better Off Now Than 10 Years Ago?

"Indisputably yes."

Meditating on the Middle East: An Open Letter to the Foreign Policy Establishment

What do you think?