The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged Best of The Streak 2008

Best of The Streak: What Worked In Iraq Must Work In Afghanistan, Right?

By | 12.31.08 | 6:00 pm

First appeared December 24, 2008

In October, Gen. David McKiernan, commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan expressed skepticism over the prospect of signing up tribal militias, Anbar Province-style, to fight the Taliban. Over the last several days, it’s become increasingly clear that a Sons-of-Afghanistan style approach —

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Best of The Streak: How Investigating Bush Administration War Crimes Could Save Taxpayers Money

By | 12.31.08 | 5:30 pm

First appeared December 12, 2008

As I wrote on Wednesday, there are already several lawsuits from torture victims pending against the United States, and some legal scholars predict many more to come. So what if an Obama-sponsored investigative commission set up a means for compensating torture victims?

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Best of The Streak: This Is What the 2008 Electoral Map Would Look Like if the Election Were Decided by [Fill In the Blank]

By | 12.31.08 | 5:30 pm

First appeared November 11, 2008

A number of sites have featured a hypothetical electoral map entitled “This Is What the 2008 Electoral Map Would Look Like if the Election Were Decided by 18-29 Year Olds.” Needless to say, it’s a very blue map.

I spent the weekend poring over More…

Best of The Streak: Obama’s Victory as Progress, Not History

By | 12.31.08 | 4:45 pm

First appeared November 4, 2008

Chicago, Ill — This victory is more than historic. President-elect Barack Obama’s victory marks political progress far broader than race — especially because his campaign de-emphasized it whenever possible.

The tens of thousands of people cheering here in Grant Park, at what is

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Best of The Streak: Race Injected Into Obama Vote

By | 12.31.08 | 4:30 pm

First appeared October 6, 2008

Over the weekend, Sen. John McCain’s brother referred to the Northern Virginia suburbs of Arlington and Alexandria as “communist country,” presumably for their traditional Democratic-leaning ways.

I don’t cover politics at TWI, so I’m not going to comment on the campaign strategy behind the More…

Best of The Streak: Letterman’s Cronkite Turn

By | 12.31.08 | 4:00 pm

First appeared September 25, 2008

Forty years ago, in September 1968, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet offensive — which changed mainstream America’s view of the Vietnam War. In living rooms across the nation, Americans saw a gruesome display of how powerless the United States forces looked as

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Best of The Streak: Hooligan Top Ten Playlist

By | 12.31.08 | 3:30 pm

First appeared September 15, 2008

COMBAT OUTPOST ZORMAT, Afghanistan – A friend emailed me to say that all my journalism is for naught if I don’t report what 1st Platoon Hooligans are listening to these days. While I don’t concede the point, I did put the question to

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Best of The Streak: Palin and The Bush Doctrine

By | 12.31.08 | 3:00 pm

First appeared September 12, 2008

As the cable news networks parse every word of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson — with more still to come today — some are debating the fairness of Gibson asking Palin for her views on “the

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Best of The Streak: Reflections on a Sunday at Palin’s Church

By | 12.31.08 | 2:30 pm

First appeared September 8, 2008

WASILLA, Alaska — In my quest to understand Gov. Sarah Palin, I attended services at her church, the Wasilla Bible Church, Sunday morning. I ended up being shooed out of the parking lot — but I’ll get to that in a minute.

It felt More…

Best of The Streak: Cross-Border Attacks on the Increase in Afghanipakistan

By | 12.31.08 | 2:00 pm

First appeared September 8, 2008

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Usually when you hear about cross-border attacks here, they are perpetrated by the Taliban. Not so much in recent weeks — this time it’s the U.S. dipping its toes into Pakistan, which Sen. John McCain has said Sen. Barack Obama More…