rssPosts by Spencer Ackerman
Gates Gives No Hints to McChrystal’s Fate
Just out from the secretary of defense, who has fired many a general officer during his tenure:
I read with concern the profile piece on Gen. Stanley McChrystal in the upcoming edition of ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine. I believe that Gen. McChrystal made a significant mistake and exercised poor judgment in
Kerry on McChrystal: Stop the ‘Feeding Frenzy’
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of the people Gen. Stanley McChrystal dissed to Rolling Stone, issued this statement that you could read as neither supporting nor opposing McChrystal.
When General McChrystal called me this morning, I emphasized that my concern is
Biden Probably Wants to Renew His Rolling Stone Subscription
Vice President Biden will probably have the last laugh now that Gen. Stanley McChrystal is returning to Washington to learn his fate as commanding general in Afghanistan after insulting his civilian bosses and colleagues to Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings. No matter what happens to McChrystal, the article strengthens More…
McChrystal Apologizes for Insulting Obama Team to Magazine
A not-yet-released Rolling Stone magazine profile of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, quotes him and anonymous aides expressing anger, disrespect and derision at various members of the Obama administration, including Vice President Biden, Amb. Richard Holbrooke and Amb. Karl Eikenberry, the U.S. ambassador to the More…
Gen. Amos Will Be the Next Marine Corps Commandant
So the rumors were true. Moments ago, Defense Secretary Robert Gates officially announced that Marine Gen. James Amos, the assistant commandant, will replace the retiring Gen. James Conway as the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Amos is the first aviator to lead the corps, and was a leading More…
Justice Dept: We’re Still Buying Replacement for Guantanamo
Apparently Robert Gibbs wasn’t playing. After the House Armed Services Committee expressly forbade the Defense Department from spending any money to purchase the Thomson Corrections Center in Illinois, the linchpin of President Obama’s pledge to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, the White House press secretary said More…
Would-Be Times Square Bomber Pleads Guilty
Faisal Shahzad, already guilty in the world court of Self-Defeating Terrorists, has pleaded guilty to a ten-count indictment on terrorism charges. According to Shawna Thomas of NBC, the Justice Department didn’t offer him any deal, but is surely happy to secure the conviction and possible life imprisonment of More…
#GenPetraeusBlogger
U.S. Central Command’s website launches a new blog — woo, let’s party like it’s 2005* – complete with an introductory post penned by its commanding general, David Petraeus. It’s a straight-forward welcome-to-the-blog here’s-what-t0-expect post, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But now that the general is contesting my battlespace, I More…
State Department Inks New $120 Million Deal With Blackwater in Afghanistan
Question of the day: Can guards for your company kill Afghan civilians, set up shell companies to win contracts, siphon off weapons intended for the Afghan police while using the names of cartoon characters to sign for them, and still win additional multi-million-dollar contracts to guard U.S. More…
Endless Punting on a Trial for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed
Josh Gerstein at Politico puts together something that’s been clear for months: As long as the Obama administration can delay announcing a final disposition for the trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 conspirators — civilian courts or military commissions? held where? — that’s exactly what it’s going More…
