Leaving Afghanistan is the right thing to do

Voices from both sides of the aisle are already charging that President Obama's plan to begin drawing own troops in Afghanistan is a political ploy to win re-election. They see a man who ran as Anti-War - who escalated one war, and began another in Libya - looking to reestablish his credentials with the Democratic base.

But sometimes we do the right thing for the wrong reasons. It is time to leave Afghanistan. We entered the country with two goals: (1) capture Osama Bin Laden, and (2) punish the Taliban for sheltering and incubating Al Qaeda and the bombers who struck us on 9/11. We have accomplished both of those goals (though Bin Laden died in Pakistan). And we have invested over 10 years and hundreds of billions of dollars in turning Afghanistan from a third-world war-zone into a functional nation state. It is enough. At this point, the Afghani people have to decide their own fate, and a continued American military presence is merely allowing them to put off the hard decisions and the tough compromises needed to knit together their fractured nation.

Many of my Conservative friends will disagree on this. They'll say that without us, Afghanistan will collapse into chaos and the Taliban will rise again. They may even say that without us in Afghanistan, Pakistan may radicalize and transform into a proto-Iran. But there comes a time in every intervention - whether in our personal lives or the world at large - where the object of the intervention needs to stand on its own. Or fall. Unless we're willing to decide that Afghanistan is the 51st state, it is time to go.

Iraqi Hackers crack Military Dones

For now, insurgents have only gained access to the video feeds from drones, but it appears that using off-the-shelf hacking tools they have gained valuable intelligence about American military operations in Iraq. This highlights the fact the age of dual-use technology is not just about making better toys available to the rest of us, but also about putting sub-standard security into some of our military hardware. This needs to be rethought before any war with a "real" enemy.

Senior defense and intelligence officials said Iranian-backed insurgents intercepted the video feeds by taking advantage of an unprotected communications link in some of the remotely flown planes' systems. Shiite fighters in Iraq used software programs such as SkyGrabber -- available for as little as $25.95 on the Internet -- to regularly capture drone video feeds, according to a person familiar with reports on the matter.

U.S. officials say there is no evidence that militants were able to take control of the drones or otherwise interfere with their flights. Still, the intercepts could give America's enemies battlefield advantages by removing the element of surprise from certain missions and making it easier for insurgents to determine which roads and buildings are under U.S. surveillance.

U.S. enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan have used off-the-shelf programs to intercept video feeds from Predator unmanned aircraft.
The drone intercepts mark the emergence of a shadow cyber war within the U.S.-led conflicts overseas.

Obama to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

In the least-surprising move of the year, President-elect Obama has let it be known that he intends to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy introduced by Bill Clinton. This policy, perhaps the least logical compromise of the last decade, allowed homosexuals to server in the military so long as they kept their relationships hidden. It was maintained by the George W. Bush administration in an attempt to keep the issue off of the public radar entirely.

I am sure this will eat up a lot of newsprint in the next few weeks, but it doesn't deserve it. This "compromise" neither served those who opposed gays in the military, nor those who felt they should be able to serve unrestricted. Still, such a horrible idea deserves to be noted when it finally dies.

GWB Sends Thank Yous to Every Soldier Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

There is plenty to fault President George W. Bush for. The handling of Katrina, the War in Iraq, the economic collapse, the flawed bailouts... the list goes on. But it is important to remember that even in the depth of ones popularity, no president is all wrong. Consider the latest news that the president personally wrote letters to the families of every soldier who died in Iraq and Afghanistan to thank them for their sacrifice.

"I do get a little emotional because it's - I'm genuine when I say I'll miss being the commander in chief," the president told The Times. "I am in awe of our military. And I hold these folks in great respect. And I also sincerely appreciate the sacrifices that their families make."

Whether you agree with the War or not, we need to honor military families who have given the ultimate sacrifice in serving their country. And those who were willing, but did not have to give it. It is impossible to overestimate how much we owe the men and women who have served the country under all manners of commanders and chief.

VT and the Deaths of our Soldiers

This article is being sensationalized by some in the Press as an attack by a soldier on the memory of those who died at Virginia Tech. But if you read the article in depth, it is really questioning whether we have become inured to the deaths of those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The whole nation stops for the deaths of the victims at VT - and rightly so - but it barely shrugs when roadside bombs or suicide bombers or insurgent attacks claim the same number of lives. Of course, soldiers choose a life which faces death, while college students do not. But maybe we do need to be a little more mindful even so.