Real Security
Top Stories
Tragedy at the Holocaust Museum: Stand Up To Terrorism
June 10th, 2009
You have to go back a long, long way in American history before you come to a place where you find incidents like this happening an average of once every two weeks.This escalating level of violence is adding data points to a potentially emergent pattern that we need to be looking at and preparing for. So far, there are at least five things I'm particularly concerned about.
Featured Issues
Shock and Audit: The Hidden Defense Budget
Somewhere in the middle regions of Barack Obama's Herculean to-do list is a task that's defeated many of his predecessors: taming the runaway Pentagon budget. But will Obama's attempt at reform be any different from all those that have gone before?... more »
Iran, the Neocons, and the Bomb
If the neocons are to be believed, Ahmadinejad's theft of the Iranian elections — and his continuing crackdown on dissent — are not the results of internal dynamics in Iran, but rather of the words of conciliation spoken by President Obama prior to the vote.... more »
The Obama Doctrine
Obama insists that the United States can't achieve great objectives on its own, even though it is "always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone," as he put it. This may break with George W. Bush's style ̬ particularly at the level of rhetoric, and especially during Bush's first term — but it is in keeping with the traditions of Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and George H.W. Bush.... more »
The Case
Shorter Tours of Duty in Iraq?
"With an effective date of August 1st, this means that not one troop will benefit from this deployment reduction until August 2009--seven months into the next Presidential administration." -- VetVoice's Brandon Friedman, 4/10/08more »
President's Security Budget Shortchanges Security
Actually, the president’s 2009 budget is way out of balance, throwing money at the military and on feared future terrorist threats while shortchanging the everyday security needs of the American people. The budget cuts homeland security grants to state and local governments by 48 percent — a whopping $2 billion. That includes a 79 percent cut in the largest state homeland security grant program, a 60 percent cut to firefighters, a 56 percent cut to transit security grants, and a 48 percent reduction to port security grants. Plus, the office that investigates waste, fraud and abuse in the Department of Homeland Security is being cut $7 million.
If the administration was really focused on homeland security, the Department of Homeland Security, with a proposed 6.8 percent budget increase, to more than $50 billion — would be able to adequately fund programs for first responders who are not only at the front lines of reacting to a disaster, but are at the first lines of prevention as well. The administration would also fund the dozens of other initiatives — from crime-prevention programs at the Department of Justice to youth programs at the Department of Education — that contribute to making our nation safer but whioh have been given the cold shoulder by conservative government.more »
The Facts
Costs of Worn-out Iraq Equipment High
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that it will take years and cost about $200 billion to repair or replace equipment that was worn out or broken in the Iraq war.
Pentagon Budget Consumes More than Half of Spending
The Pentagon’s budget accounts for more than half of all “discretionary spending”— that is, half of everything the federal government spends after paying for entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, and interest on the national debt. .
The News
Rail’s Hazardous Cargo Debate Back on Track
June 29th, 2009
Report: Easy For Suspected Terrorists To Buy Guns In U.S.
June 23rd, 2009
The Case
Made Of Lies
It began more than six years ago with a lie, followed by another lie, and another lie, and then two more, ten more, a hundred, a thousand, an avalanche of lies from heads of state and hatchet men and well-fed media types more interested in getting the interview than in getting the facts. It began with lies like this: "Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."more »
Little to Celebrate in Iraq
More than six years after the U.S. invasion, Iraq is shattered. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dead — far more, incidentally, than even the largest estimates of the number of Iraqis who died during 35 years of Saddam Hussein's rule — its social fabric is utterly destroyed, its economy is in ruins, and its dominant political faction is in hock to neighboring Iran. And now what?more »
Latest from our Bloggers
jun
3
2009
7:01 am
7:01 am
Marcy Wheeler hosted a panel on torture at the AFN conference featuring Rep. Jerry Nadler and Christopher Anders of the ACLU, in which Nadler set forth a couple of ideas that are illuminating about the thinking among political players on the subject.
Marcy writes about one of them here:
Yesterday, Jerrold Nadler announced he will hold a hearing on state secrets on Thursday. more »
may
27
2009
10:28 am
10:28 am
Congressional Republicans are marginally more popular and significantly less contagious than the swine flu. Even conservatives are keeping their distance. House leader John Boehner's perpetual tan has become a presidential punch line. Senate leader Mitch Dr. No McConnell is known only for obstruction. Ideologues like Rush rush to fill the leadership vacuum, seeking to purge the party of any lingering moderates. It's gotten so bad that neo-con Bill Kristol suggests that leading presidential candidates for 2012 might well be the oft disgraced Newt Gingrich and..gulp.. Darth Cheney himself.
more »may
19
2009
6:13 pm
6:13 pm
When progressive House Democrats were blocked from a floor vote on their proposal requiring an exit strategy for our Afghanistan military mission, and several in turn voted against funding for the mission, McClatchy Newspapers concluded, "the anti-war crowd remains as impotent as it was during the Bush years." more »
apr
24
2009
4:52 pm
4:52 pm
The Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ) was intended to improve the Pentagon’s acquisition process, fraught with nearly $300 billion in cost overruns on 95 major weapons systems. more »
apr
21
2009
12:43 pm
12:43 pm
I appeared on CNN yesterday to discuss President Obama's CIA speech, and his decision to release CIA torture memos. You can watch the clip here - and make sure to watch all the way to the end, because the debate gets into a historical question about 9/11 that now has more relevance for American foreign policy than ever.more »
apr
15
2009
11:39 am
11:39 am
So there's been a lot of overwrought hysteria from the right about President Obama's increases to the defense budget. Apparently, these increases aren't enough, and conservatives are specifically upset that he's proposed some cuts to outdated weapons systems. more »
apr
13
2009
3:43 pm
3:43 pm
Last week’s communication disruption in Silicon Valley—caused by vandals simply cutting fiber-optics—calls to attention the susceptibility of America's infrastructure. From cyberspace to our ports and plants, major gaps in security still exist. more »
apr
7
2009
4:21 pm
4:21 pm
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released on Monday a proposal to reform the Pentagon budget by modestly cutting a few weapons programs, but stopped well short of slashing the bloated Pentagon budget. Though when surveying the reaction among mainstream media and conservatives, one would think radical change was coming — a sort of Pentagon doomsday.more »
