The Libyan Conundrum, Part III: Marx Brothers Foreign Policy

I’ve been hesitant to post another blog on Libya because I don’t have behind-the-scenes intel and didn’t want to undercut operations about which I’m no longer privy.  After a couple of weeks of research from the sidelines, I’m now pretty sure that there is no coherent U.S. policy on Libya.  Only stabs in the dark to placate this week’s squeaky wheel.  On 4/21, the Obama administration decided to send armed predators to Libya, another paper escalation in the war that isn’t a war.  That’s an absolutely perfect decision [...]

By |2011-04-22T12:10:44-04:00April 22nd, 2011|Blog|1 Comment

When free speech gets deadly

A few months ago I wrote a blog about the Dove Outreach Church in Florida that wanted to burn the Quran and the potential effects that it could cause.  Well, today we saw those effects.  On September 9th I wrote, “The bottom line is that, rightly or wrongly, the action will be viewed harshly in the Islamic world.  Millions of people now on the fence, who really have no idea what America is like and have more than likely never even met an American citizen, will now believe [...]

By |2011-04-03T03:54:13-04:00April 3rd, 2011|Blog|2 Comments

The Libyan Conundrum, Part II: What now?

I guess my blog isn’t as well read as it should be, since everyone involved in the attack against Libya is acting surprised at the initial results.  The Arab League endorsed a no-fly zone without realizing it meant attacking Libya, and the Obama administration is desperately trying to keep from choosing sides when the coalition in the fight has already chosen. Today the Arab League, after watching 112 tomahawk cruise missiles slam into Libya, started getting a little antsy, saying, “What is happening in Libya differs from the [...]

By |2011-03-20T10:06:03-04:00March 20th, 2011|Blog|8 Comments

The Libyan Conundrum

On March 10, the Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, was castigated for stating that Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, if left to its own devices, would eventually prevail.   Clapper has made some ridiculous statements in the past, but this isn’t one of them.  Only in Washington would telling the truth be deemed irresponsible.   Fast forward to today, and Gadhafi has retaken critical cities and an oil refinery lost to the rebels, and shows no signs of backing down.  Looks like Clapper was right on this one. During my book [...]

By |2011-03-14T08:05:16-04:00March 14th, 2011|Blog|1 Comment

Covert Action and Special Operations: Fact and Fantasy

In 2009, right after I finished One Rough Man, legendary investigative reporter Seymour Hersh claimed that George W. Bush had run an “executive assassination ring” reporting directly to Dick Cheney, which might be continuing to this day under a new administration.  I couldn’t believe it.  The story sounded remarkably like the fictional unit I’d created for my novel.  Given my background, I suppose what I should do is wink and nod, neither confirming nor denying his allegations.  After all, that would be the best for book sales.  “No, [...]

By |2017-11-17T18:04:35-05:00January 31st, 2011|Blog, Featured|8 Comments

Lethal Truth

We’re one month from the book launch, and in the three years since I started writing my novel about a fictional counter-terrorist unit called the Taskforce, I’ve been amazed at the number of news stories that have basically stated  a unit like the one I’ve created really exists.  They’ve asserted that the CIA has “assassination squads” planning to kill terrorists without any congressional oversight, in defiance of the assassination ban in Executive Order 12333.  That Special Forces have been running amok in foreign lands, ignoring all aspects of [...]

By |2011-01-13T08:40:22-05:00January 13th, 2011|Blog|5 Comments

American Christmas Spirit

With the holiday season upon us, I wanted to take a moment to highlight what makes the United States great:  The indomitable spirit of the average American.  Whether conquering the frontier or the beaches at Normandy, you can count on Americans to never give in.  Never quit.  Take this guy for instance—no matter what obstacles are placed in his way, or obstacles not in his way that he chooses to find, he will not stop on the way to his objective.  It’s pure American can-do attitude at its finest.  [...]

By |2010-12-17T14:37:54-05:00December 17th, 2010|Blog|0 Comments

I’m in Israel. Go ahead and touch my junk.

Over the past three days, I’ve heard a plethora of talking heads say we should forego scanners and pat-downs in the United States in favor of the “Israeli Model” of airport security, including profiling.  They hold-up Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv as the shining example of success, and I agree 100%.  Let’s do that, but we need to be honest about what that means and not pick and choose pieces of Israel’s security, which is what’s currently happening.  For the record, Israel’s security is MORE invasive than [...]

By |2010-11-18T23:59:44-05:00November 18th, 2010|Blog|3 Comments

Don’t Touch My Junk

When it comes to security, Americans have the shortest memory span of anyone on earth.  We’re the first to start screaming about individual rights whenever we have to suffer any interruption in our daily routines, and also the first to scream for someone’s head when a terrorist attack is “allowed” to occur. Last weekend, a man refused to enter a full body scanner at a San Diego airport, then refused to allow a pat-down in lieu of the scan, claiming both bordered on sexual molestation, and uttering his [...]

By |2010-11-16T21:21:19-05:00November 16th, 2010|Blog|1 Comment

Where’s Waldo?

The big story in the news yesterday was that NATO officials had necked down the location of Osama bin Laden, along with his brethren, to a stretch of the lawless lands of Pakistan.  The news was immediately followed by rejoinders of American officials about the accuracy of the reports.  After recent admissions by our own CIA that we haven’t had any intelligence on bin Laden for years, it was another ghost story that left a majority of Americans scratching their heads.  I mean, really, with all of our [...]

By |2010-10-19T17:07:36-04:00October 19th, 2010|Blog|5 Comments
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