A Book Review Of A Book I Haven't Read....Yet

This new book by Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) looks intense.

The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse

Is it me, or does Steny Hoyer look a little too darned comfortable carrying a purse and holding another man's hand? Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Death Toll in Afghanistan Hits 1000 Mark

News here of the passing of a milestone in the war in Afghanistan, the death of the 1000th American. This is an occasion for reflection and sadness.

But let us not forget--we have been fighting a war in Afghanistan for 8 and a half years--and while the deaths of 1000 are lamentable, we cannot but be grateful for the technology, training, and leadership our Armed Forces have. These factors have been critical in keeping war dead to under 125 a year there.

Perspective: 58,000 dead in Vietnam. 53000 dead in Korea. 300,000 dead in WWII.

Though I am grateful for the deaths of so few, I wonder whether we have created an expectation in ourselves of the capacity for deathless war (at least on our side), an expectation that at some point could result in the loss of true perspective about cost and benefit in the waging of war. Time will tell.

Dr. Preble on Obama and Afghanistan

Our favorite libertarian foreign policy expert, Dr. Chris Preble of The Cato Institute, has an interesting podcast up on the Cato website. Dr. Preble's not a fan of Obama's plan--and he makes a lot of sense on a lot of points.

One point I with which I will take issue: Preble says "the American people HATE open-ended commitments" (speaking in support of the President's 18 month limit). Perhaps--but they hate losing more.