Tag: Iraq

Fake News

Mona Charen
By Mona Charen
Contributor
Mona Charen is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Her new book, Sex Matters: How Modern Feminism Lost Touch with Science, Love, and Common Sense, is available now.
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95 COMMENTS
 

Remarkable, isn’t it, that Donald Trump has made decrying “fake news” his calling card? Is the press hostile to him? Sure. Do they lie about him? For the most part, no. Then again, the truth is not everyone’s friend. As William Randolph Hearst once quipped: “If Mr. Hughes will stop telling lies about me, I’ll stop telling the truth about him.” Or, even better, William F. Buckley said of Gore Vidal: “Anyone who lies about him is doing him a favor.”

On his visit to Iraq, the president lied to the troops. How can you claim to honor people you are lying to? Lying signals contempt. “We are always going to protect you. And you just saw that, ’cause you just got one of the biggest pay raises you’ve ever received. … You haven’t gotten one in more than 10 years. More than 10 years. And we got you a big one. I got you a big one.”

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MattSchoenfeldt
By MattSchoenfeldt
Coolidge
  I am a career military officer that enjoys political debate and discussion. Recently founded two podcasts SatiristPod and TOCradio. SatiristPod is a political based show with an old friend that really does not follow politics and hence for me where the interest comes in from. TOCradio is a military themed show where we host conversations with members of the military. Both are available on iTunes searched under their respective names or http://satiristpod.libsyn.com/ and http://tocradio.l… [more]
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3 COMMENTS
 

I invested nearly two decades of experience in the region into this show and we look at what forces are there, how we got involved, regional context, possible paths, consequences, ISIS, Congress and POTUS rolls, and much more. Curious on your takes? Please take the time to really listen to this episode, the media coverage […]
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Former CIA Operative Unloads on Brennan and Politicized IC

Ben Weingarten
By Ben Weingarten
Contributor
Ben Weingarten is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. He writes on national security and foreign policy, economics, and politics for publications including The Federalist, where he is a senior contributor, as well as City Journal, Conservative Review and PJ Media. Ben is the founder and CEO of ChangeUp Media, a media consulting and production company dedicated to advancing conservative principles. He is also a 2015 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute. You can find his… [more]
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10 COMMENTS
 

For this week’s Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast, I had former CIA operative and leader of CIA’s Counter Terrorism Center’s WMD unit, author of the must-read and highly relevant 2009 book Beyond Repair: The Decline and Fall of the CIA and outspoken critic of the politicized leadership in America’s intelligence and national security apparatus, Charles Sam Faddis on to discuss among other things:

  • Why Faddis supports revoking John Brennan’s security clearance — and the bureaucratization and politicization of the leadership of the intelligence community versus the rank-and-file analysts and operatives in the field
  • Whether politics dominates over merit in the ranks of intelligence and the national security apparatus more broadly
  • What members of the national security establishment really mean when they talk about “protecting the institutions“
  • Why President Trump has been deemed a threat to the power of the political leaders within the national security establishment in a qualitatively different way than any of his predecessors — and that’s a positive thing
  • What Faddis would do to reform intelligence
  • The poor state of America’s counterintelligence capabilities
  • The lessons of Iraq regarding U.S. intervention and the national interest
  • Whether America has the capability to use intelligence to engage in ideological warfare and bring down Iran’s Khomeinist regime
  • How China’s liquidation of our spy network reflects the problems plaguing America’s intelligence apparatus
  • The long-term dire ramifications of China’s OPM hack
  • The implications of China’s attempt to infiltrate Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office
  • The threat to the U.S. homeland of a collapsing Venezuela and Mexico, combined with drug cartels, organized crime groups and Hezbollah in our hemisphere
  • Faddis’ optimistic assessment of the Trump administration’s North Korea policy
  • Why China poses the greatest long-term threat to America of all, and our willful blindness towards it

You can find the episode on iTunes, everywhere else podcasts are found, and download the episode directly here.

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Aaron Miller
By Aaron Miller
Member
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In light of the latest bout of protests in Iran, perhaps it is worth looking back at the “Arab Spring” generally. How does the Middle East look these days? What is the Arab Spring’s greatest success story? What is its worst failure?  More
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Can the Saudis Lead the Middle East into the Future?

Susan Quinn
By Susan Quinn
Contributor
Retired consultant, avid biography reader and meditator
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44 COMMENTS
 

Slowly but surely, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is trying to bring the Saudis into the 21st century. It is happening in fits and starts, and there are still many signs that the country has a long way to go, but I am cautiously optimistic.

Just last Tuesday, the Crown Prince talked about moderating Saudi Arabia’s practice of radical Sunni Islam at an economic forum in Riyadh:

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Ricochet Audio Network
By Ricochet Audio Network
Admin
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This week on Banter, Michael Rubin joined the show to discuss the recent Kurdish referendum on independence from Iraq, the Kirkuk crisis, and the implications of an independent Kurdistan for the Middle East as well as the US. Rubin is an AEI Resident Scholar and former Pentagon official whose research focuses on the Middle East, […]
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Raqqa Falls, ISIS Reels

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
By Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Chief
Jon Gabriel (a.k.a., @ExJon on Twitter) is the Editor-in-Chief of Ricochet. He is a political writer and marketing consultant, contributing articles to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and USA Today among others. Until 2012, he served as Director of Marketing for the free-market Goldwater Institute, where he converted policy initiatives into compelling stories. In the private sector, Jon led marketing efforts for Cold Stone Creamery, Honeywell, and several technology companies. In his… [more]
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38 COMMENTS
 

Osama bin Laden famously said, “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, they will naturally want to side with the strong horse.” These days, ISIS is looking more like a dead horse.

US-led forces have liberated Raqqa, the so-called capital of the terror group. Mop-up operations continue, but the city is swarmed with coalition fighters.

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Ricochet Audio Network
By Ricochet Audio Network
Admin
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America react to Bowe Bergdahl pleading guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, glad that justice is being done and not being swept under the rug in the case of the soldier who left his unit in Afghanistan and was returned by the Obama […]
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Fear and Loathing in Kirkuk

The Daily Shot
By The Daily Shot
Contributor
The Daily Shot is a quick, smart, fun way to catch up on today's big events — and get a preview of what's coming tomorrow. It's a fast snapshot of the news from a decidedly Ricochet perspective, packed with enough information to tide you over until you have a chance to sit down with your favorite non-left-wing news outlet, assuming you've found such a thing. The Daily Shot gives you just the right amount of news, wit, and information to make it through the day, and to dazzle and dumbfound a… [more]
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3 COMMENTS
 

There’s trouble in the works in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. However, before we can explain what happened there over the weekend, we need to provide some background.

Kirkuk is roughly a four-hour drive north of Baghdad, and closer than that to the Iranian border. It is a complex mix of ethnic groups, with the largest being Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs. Plus Assyrians, Armenians, and a smattering of Jews.

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Ricochet Audio Network
By Ricochet Audio Network
Admin
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Jim Geraghty of National Review and Greg Corombos of Radio America celebrate the liberation of Mosul from ISIS control and the tightening of the noose around ISIS in Syria as well. They also discuss reports that former FBI Director James Comey’s memos on conversations with President Trump contain classified information. And they lightheartedly critique Donald Trump Jr.’s […]
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Jerome Danner
By Jerome Danner
Inactive
I am an Administrative Assistant to a School Dean at a college.  I have been happily married for 6 years and have a beautiful baby boy.  Also, I am a blogger, podcaster, and I hope to grow more as a writer.  My main website is https://jeromedanner.net/, but I also write for The Daily Nerv (click here for those pieces).
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5 COMMENTS
 

Next on Thinking It Through with Jerome Danner:  I invited a writer and thinker who is influencing me more and more after I heard him on the Eric Metaxas Show. Dr. John Zmirak is a writer for The Stream and he was a great guest to talk to about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. https://jeromedanner.net/2017/04/15/episode-32-jzmirak-of-streamdotorg-on-trumps-first-100-days-john-zmirak-of-the-stream/ More
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Brad B.
By Brad B.
Inactive
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10 COMMENTS
 

It is common in my conversations with fellow Millienials to see sneer quotes applied whenever the term “American Dream” is brought up. Far from being limited to those on the Left, I have noticed this trend among disaffected conservatives as well, particularly during the Obama era. It was something noteworthy about the not so diametrically […]
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Brad B.
By Brad B.
Inactive
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16 COMMENTS
 

I have been regrettably absent from Ricochet for much of the past year, save for a post or two. While I still stay abreast of the happenings back home, it’s been a nice sabbatical having removed myself from the current political discussions. Since Spring of 2016, I have been living and working in northern Iraq; initially […]
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2 Cheers for NGOs

Brad B.
By Brad B.
Inactive
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15 COMMENTS
 

Skipsul’s recent post on the nefarious role that Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) sometimes unwittingly play in the third world is an excellent read and echoes other recent articles critical of NGOs as a whole. (A Jerusalem Post piece called them the “new feudalism”). As an American expat working for an NGO in Iraq, I felt somewhat compelled to respond, not out of any desire to “defend the herd,” but simply to offer a little insight into their nature, both good and bad. I’ll restrict my commentary only to the areas I’ve worked in or observed personally. I would suspect some of what I say might not be relevant or applicable to NGO work outside of Iraq.

Important to note, NGO work is broadly divided into two often mutually exclusive parts; advocacy and humanitarian work. Most NGOs exist either to advocate and lobby for a particular issue or to provide a particular humanitarian service. You might assume they do both as a matter of course, but with rare exceptions, most NGOs stick to one or the other. The reasons for this are quite simple and each have their tradeoffs. Advocacy work is inherently political in nature. Either you’re lobbying for local/foreign governments do do something (give money, provide assistance, etc) or you’re lobbying for local/foreign governments to stop doing something (genocide, discrimination, neglect) Since local governments often bear some responsibility for the disaster being addressed in the first place (Iraq especially), advocacy NGOs can find themselves at loggerheads with local politicians. And believe me, you will never find a more petty and conniving politician than the ones this country produces. As such, advocacy groups are usually reluctant to delve into humanitarian work because these efforts would be hampered by their too-public profile.

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Drums In The Deep

SkipSul
By SkipSul
Moderator
The road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began Now far ahead the road has gone And I must follow, if I can. Still Round the corner there may wait Some new road or secret gate And though oft I've passed them by A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the moon, East of the Sun
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54 COMMENTS
 

War drums are rumbling in ways strangely reminiscent of the world a century past. Nations with chips on their shoulders and something to prove have engaged in foreign adventurism. Would a second Clinton presidency succeed in quelling those drums, or have eight years of flailing foreign policy made us stumble towards some greater conflagration?

The 9/11 Attacks happened on George W. Bush’s watch, but it is clear the attack was planned and orchestrated in the years prior, during the presidency of Bill Clinton. One of my own first thoughts upon seeing the burning remains of the World Trade Center on TV was “Well, it finally happened.” After eight years of Clinton’s hamfisted foreign interventions, poor responses to repeated violations by Iraq and attacks on US troops and facilities (the USS Cole being the most prominent in my memory), I was expecting (at least) a serious bloody nose in some form from the Middle East. We had endured eight years of weakness in victory with a president who was overeager to spend a “peace dividend” he did not earn, and we have paid for that since with 15 years of war and misery (and the poor souls who inhabit Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan are paying a still higher price). A strong response to Iraq or to Islamic terrorism in 1996, or a strong spine even in 1994 might have spared us much.

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The Battle for Mosul Begins

Claire Berlinski, Ed.
By Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Editor
Since earning her doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, Claire Berlinski has lived and worked in Britain, Thailand, Laos, Turkey and now France as a journalist, academic, editor, translator and freelance writer. She is the author of Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis is America's, Too and There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters. She has also written two spy novels. Her writing has been published in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Th… [more]
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64 COMMENTS
 

The offensive on Mosul is beginning. Over the weekend, US and French jets pounded ISIS positions east of Mosul and began shelling ISIS positions, paving the way for a ground offensive. This morning, Kurdish forces began advancing on villages east of the city.

Over the weekend, ISIS killed 53 people in three separate attacks in Iraq, including a suicide bombing in Baghdad. Conditions in Mosul are dire, and will no doubt get far worse; if Mosul is laid waste, another million and a half refugees will pour into the region and beyond. (It’s unclear what the population of Mosul is now; there were two million people there before it was captured by ISIS, but as many as a million have already fled.) 

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US Troop Level in Iraq Hits 5,000

Jon Gabriel, Ed.
By Jon Gabriel, Ed.
Chief
Jon Gabriel (a.k.a., @ExJon on Twitter) is the Editor-in-Chief of Ricochet. He is a political writer and marketing consultant, contributing articles to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Post, and USA Today among others. Until 2012, he served as Director of Marketing for the free-market Goldwater Institute, where he converted policy initiatives into compelling stories. In the private sector, Jon led marketing efforts for Cold Stone Creamery, Honeywell, and several technology companies. In his… [more]
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58 COMMENTS
 

In 2011, Obama shocked Pentagon leaders by pulling all US troops out of Iraq.

American military officials had said they wanted a “residual” force of as many as tens of thousands of American troops to remain in Iraq past 2011 as an insurance policy against any violence. Those numbers were scaled back, but the expectation was that at least about 3,000 to 5,000 American troops would remain…

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Kurdistan, Yezidis, and the Strange Consensus: A Report from an Iraq Correspondent

Claire Berlinski, Ed.
By Claire Berlinski, Ed.
Editor
Since earning her doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, Claire Berlinski has lived and worked in Britain, Thailand, Laos, Turkey and now France as a journalist, academic, editor, translator and freelance writer. She is the author of Menace in Europe: Why the Continent's Crisis is America's, Too and There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters. She has also written two spy novels. Her writing has been published in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Th… [more]
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21 COMMENTS
 

I received this report from a correspondent who asked for anonymity. “Given Ricochet’s educated readership,” he wrote, “perhaps they might enjoy this more detailed perspective” on Kurdistan and the KRG’s lobbyists in the West. I thought it was fascinating. If you have questions about it, I’ll be happy to post his replies.

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Breaking: Iraqis Re-Capture Fallujah

Ricochet Editors' Desk
By Ricochet Editors' Desk
Editor
Ricochet's editorial staff
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3 COMMENTS
 

Via the WSJ:

BAGHDAD—Iraqi security forces said they seized Fallujah’s central government compound, their first significant victory inside the city in a weekslong battle against Islamic State. Federal police forces flew the Iraqi flag over the city’s mayoral office Friday, the military said in a statement. The building is part of a large administrative compound that also houses the city’s police headquarters and courthouses. But the military stopped short of declaring full control over Fallujah, saying it was still battling a significant number of militant fighters in the city. The military said government forces had surrounded Fallujah General Teaching Hospital in the city’s downtown district, a building they said the terror group had used as a command center. Fallujah was the first major city seized by Islamic State in 2014 during a blitz that saw the Sunni Muslim extremists take over about one-third of Iraq. “We hope within the next few days to cleanse the whole of Fallujah from Daesh militants,” said Brig. Yahya Rasool, spokesman for the joint operations command in Baghdad, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State.

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