Outside the Beltway

The Pentagon is frustrated that the Obama administration doesn’t “seem to understand what military force can and cannot do.”

What ever became of Private Robert H. Lister of the 165th Infantry?

The CIA has declassified the last six documents from the World War One era.

America’s war colleges have some problems but we can’t close them.

A Pentagon investigation was unable to verify some of the comments attributed to General Stanley McChrystal in Rolling Stone last year. That doesn’t mean he’s been cleared, though.

It may be time to change rules keeping women out of combat roles. But “fairness” isn’t the right question.

The law of war is not fully clear when applied to modern conflicts.

Stephen Walt doesn’t expect Obama’s foreign policy to change along with the names on the org chart.

David Petraeus’ 1987 PhD dissertation:After all, if a country with relatively few public opinion concerns or moral compunctions about its tactics cannot beat a bunch of ill-equipped Afghan tribesmen, what does that say about the ability of the United States — with its domestic constraints, statutory limitations, moral inhibition, and zealous investigative reporters — to carry out a successful action against a guerrilla force?

My first piece for The American Conservative, which they’ve titled “War Isn’t for Everyone–The military needs civilian control, not citizen soldiers,” is in the May issue.

Should transparency stop at the water’s edge?

Defense Secretary Gates hinted this week that the U.S. would stay in Iraq if the Iraqis wanted. It doesn’t seem like they do.

Continuing problems with the coalition operation in Libya reinforce an old military adage: You fight like you train.

Remember when President Obama said there would be “no boots on the ground” in Libya? You didn’t actually believe that, did you?

The duty to defend “hateful, extremely disrespectful, and enormously intolerant” expression.

The Obama Administration has given up on the idea of trying the September 11th suspects in a civilian court. Considering how much that trial would have perverted the justice system, that’s a good thing.

Department of Defense (DOD) employees moving into a new building this fall may start their days walking past a sculpture of a toad with a ten-foot fairy on its back.

A NATO airstrike killed 13 rebel fighters, who were mistaken for Gaddafi’s forces. Apparently, they were shooting at NATO planes.

If we allow the possible reaction of the most dogmatic, evil people who might hear the message to govern our expression, we don’t have freedom at all.

Todays’ horrific attack on the UN complex in Mazar-i Sharif may well the the Tet Offensive of Afghanistan: a relatively minor event that permanently changed the American public’s view of the war.

To honor the administration’s “no boots on the ground” statements, all covert U.S. personnel in Libya will work barefoot. – Jim Geraghty

The U.S. seems to be on the verge of changing war strategies in Libya, even as it becomes clear that these rebels aren’t necessarily our friends.

The “Obama Doctrine,” such as it is, seems to boil down to moral self-certainty combined with a glaring ignorance of reality. That’s a dangerous combination.

Dan Drezner: President Obama should give a speech that “clearly prioritizes American interests and values. Because unless the president defines his grand strategy, pundits will be more than happy to define it — badly — for him.”

One week in to Operation Odyssey Down, public opinion is, to put it as nicely as possibly, ambivalent.

Politico’s Matt Wuerker illustrates the funding disparity between the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Xavier Alvarez lied about having been awarded the Medal Of Honor. Should that be a crime? The Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals says no, and they’re right.

Senator Joe Lieberman said today that we should intervene in Syria using the same rationale we did for Libya. Because, you know, what’s the big deal about a fourth war?

The Libyan rebels probably aren’t strong enough to defeat Gaddafi on their own, and the no-fly zone isn’t going to be enough either. Which means this operation is going to be far more extensive than President Obama is willing to admit publicly.