Syria shutdown

From an op ed:

Syria adds another chapter to the star-crossed history of CIA paramilitary action. These efforts begin with the worthy objective of giving presidents policy options short of all-out war. But they often end with an untidy mess, in which rebels feel they have been “seduced and abandoned” by the promise of U.S. support that disappears when the political winds change.

Article.


Most important point (low in the piece): you need a geo-political plan for the military component to make any sense. But we knew that, right?

John McCain

Whatever other achievements, etc., he has had since, John McCain is a hero and example to all of us. His endurance and fortitude during his imprisonment in North Vietnam is an example for all of on how to persevere under the most horrible circumstances. His politics are irrelevant; his resilience is everything.

Article:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee known for political independence during more than three decades in the Senate, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer, his office said on Wednesday.

The 80-year-old lawmaker and former Navy pilot, who was re-elected to a sixth Senate term in November, has been recovering at home in Arizona since undergoing surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix last Friday to remove a blood clot from above his left eye.

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Official statement.