Outside the Beltway

Is Sarah Palin really against child nutrition? Or just taking cheap shots at Michelle Obama?

One of the most active American diplomats of the past twenty-five years has passed away.

WikiLeaks’ reveals that DynCorp, a government contractor, provided drugs and child sex slaves to Afghan police–and the State Department helped cover it up.

The latest wrong of documents from Wikileaks show that American diplomats are as worried about Pakistan as the rest of us, and not quite sure how to deal with the situation.

Sarah Palin has taken to her Facebook page to raise “Serious Questions about the Obama Administration’s Incompetence in the WikiLeaks Fiasco.” They’re more interesting than I’d expected.

Afghans in two crucial southern provinces are almost completely unaware of the September 11 attacks on the United States and don’t know they precipitated the foreign intervention now in its 10th year, a new report showed on Friday.

The first civilian trial of a Guantanamo detainee ends with the Defendant being acquitted on all but one charge, and shows us why the entire process is little more than a show trial.

Hamid Karazi says that the United States needs to reduce it’s military presence in his country. Perhaps we should listen to him.

According to reports, the Obama Administration is set to abandon the July 2011 withdrawal deadline that was set earlier this year.

The military surge in Afghanistan appears to be having little impact on the Taliban.

We already knew that Hamid Karzai was corrupt, now we know he takes bribes from the Iranians.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates acknowledged in a newly released letter that the Wikileaks Afghan War document dump wasn’t as damaging as the Pentagon initially claimed. So what was the uproar all about?

While Americans concern themselves with domestic politics and mid-term elections, the situation in Pakistan seems to continue to get worse.

Pakistan yesterday blocked NATO’s primary supply line into Afghanistan in retaliation for an air strike that killed three Pakistani paramilitaries. Are the two countries truly allies?

Seems Grayson’s getting desperate.

Bob Woodward reports that President Obama was looking for options other than staying the course in Afghanistan. The military didn’t provide any.

According to a new book from Bob Woorward, American policy in Afghanistan is the result of a decision making process that can only be described as chaotic at best.

Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections were marked by another round of allegations of widespread voter fraud, once again bringing to the forefront the question; what exactly are we trying to accomplish in Afghanistan ?

Regular readers know that I’ve long thought we’ve achieved all we’re going to in Afghanistan. But that doesn’t mean that our presence is therefore motivated by secret motives.

Taking a short trip back in time via Instapundit’s archives reveals a September 11th post that turned out to be prophetic.

Ted Koppel thinks our actions since 9/11 have helped Osama bin Laden fulfill his goals. He couldn’t be more wrong.

Steve Walt, Steve Clemons, Matthew Hoh and others have released a provocative new report arguing for a change in our Afghanistan strategy.

The plan by one fringe church in Gainesville, Florida to burn copies of the Koran on September 11th is igniting fires of protest across the Muslim world.

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas’ new book, AMERICAN TALIBAN: HOW WAR, SEX, SIN, AND POWER BIND JIHADISTS AND THE RADICAL RIGHT, continues a long tradition in political polemics.

The task of getting aid to the 20 million victims of Pakistan’s floods may have just gotten a lot more difficult

The United States has promised $150 million in aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. Should we have?

The GOP is playing a dangerous game with the anti-Islamic rhetoric that it seems to be courting these days.

Barack Obama has significantly widened his predecessor’s global war on terrorism, even if he’s no longer calling it that.

The American Family Association has ramped up the nation’s anti-Muslim sentiment yet again.

The American military is on a mission in Afghanistan that the public is increasingly starting to question.

ABC’s Sunday talking heads show has a new host. Is she a secret Taliban sympathizer?

Three different ways they’re viewing the leaked “war logs” across the Pond.

Will the Wikileaks document dump give even further impetus to the growing sentiment that the United States needs to leave Afghanistan ?

The scumbags at WikiLeaks have published a huge trove of classified documents provided to them by one or more traitors in our military.

The movie version of Captain America will dress like the flag but won’t be waving it.

The Taliban have a new secret weapon: Monkey terrorist soldiers.

Is Ann Coulter’s defense of Michael Steele’s Afghan War skepticism the beginning of conservative split, or just an attempt to pile on President Obama ?

We need to ask ourselves some tough questions on Afghanistan.

The public is growing tired of America’s Longest War.

Are we making too much of Stanley McChrystal’s remarks?

Stanley McChrystal’s fate is the story of the day, but there’s a broader message in the Rolling Stone story, and it has broad implications for the future of the Afghan War.

Christian Bleuer provides a 10-step solution for victory over the Taliban.