Extrajudicial Killing an Obama administration policy.

I will fight targeted assassinations even if the President is a Democrat.

It is hard to know if you are walking on thin ice. The ice is opaque, and the first indication that you are in trouble is when you hear the musical cracking under your feet. This can be the case with many things, including civilian control of the military. It is very hard to know when you are in good shape and when you are in danger until after the overt actions of a coup have been attempted.

This is why it is so critical that we have complete civilian control of our military. The danger that a large and incredibly well equipped military can present should never be forgotten or underestimated. This is why it is likely that today is going to be the very last day of military service for Gen. Stanly McCrhystal. His words and actions have gone beyond the pale on more than one occasion. He was strongly reprimanded for his inappropriate statements on Afghanistan policy before the president decided to increase troops there, and now the quotes in the new Rolling Stone article showing his and his command teams disdain for the civilian leadership mean it is time for him to go.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

All of this has me thinking about the novel and movie 7 Days In May. If you have not seen this movie (with Burt Lancaster and Kurt Douglas no less!) then do yourself a favor and rent it. The plot revolves around a charismatic and hard-nosed general who plots a military coup after the President announces a treaty with the Soviets to destroy all nuclear missiles.

Lancaster’s character is convinced that he knows better than the president and “for the good of the nation” intends to remove him. Without giving away too much the plot is discovered by his aid and is brought to the attention of the president. This movie has one of the best closing speeches and final scenes of any I have ever seen it is really worth your while.

Attacking an enemy target is a rather slow thing, in all but one type of weapon. When we thought we knew where Osama Bin Laden was in 1998 we launched a cruise missile strike from the closet available ship. A missile frigate with the USS Abraham Lincoln Battle Group was 1100 miles from the target, which meant it took the Tomahawk missiles two hours to arrive. By that time Bin Laden was long gone.

While we have decreased the time that we can attack over a battlefield with the use of UAV drone like the Reaper, they are not really useful for the challenge of trying to prevent the launch of a nuclear missile or to attack targets in places where we do not control the air space. This of course leaves aside all the of ethical arguments about the use of this type of weapon, but that is another post.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

On April 19th, on the fifteenth anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing, MSNBC will televise live footage of interviews with Timothy McVeigh, the right wing mastermind of the attack. In light of all the turbulence and controversy surrounding the administration of Barack Obama, is this just another case of crass sensationalism or does it serve as a timely, in your face, reminder of what constitutes an extreme threat to public safety?

With his upcoming address to the Joint Session of Congress, the president has one last opportunity to take control of the debate about health care reform and pull out a win for himself and the nation. He must seize the day.

This is the Dog’s weekly letter writing campaign series. This week we write to the President urging him to release the CIA Inspector General’s report.

This weeks letter is to the President urging him to release all the photos and documents he can so the world will see we own our mistakes and then take care to redress them.

By nature I don’t believe in being a partisan flamethrower, but this is something that has been becoming clearer and clearer over time. The facts are inescapable.

While we are not at the finish line for accountability, this week did provide some good signs of moving in the right direction, if not as fast as we would like.

Every Monday the Dog writes a letter to the folks who have some influence on whether we will see a true investigation into torture. This series is designed to let folks cut and paste this letter and send it in under their own name. Will you help out?