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November 15, 2013  

Low-key Pentagon | Obama vs. the generals | Fun with lightsabers?

Happy Friday! After more than a dozen years of the U.S. military taking very active — and often highly controversial — roles around the world, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel thinks it’s time to take a step back. Andrew Tilghman writes that Hagel said at a conference that the American people “have grown skeptical about using military force, and the Pentagon should play a more limited role in American foreign policy.” (Military Times)

Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown law professor and former Pentagon appointee, has an in-depth look at President Obama’s chilly-at-best relationship with his generals. (Politico)

Has Iran essentially ground its nuclear program to a halt? That’s the conclusion of the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency, reports Paul Richter. (Los Angeles Times)

And for a little Friday fun, the Duffel Blog has a hilarious look at the Pentagon’s failed “lightsaber” weapons program. (Duffel Blog)

Warlord’s Quote

“Making war on rebellion is messy and slow, like eating soup with a knife.” — T.E. Lawrence

Contributed by Lt. Col. (ret.) John Nagl, a Rhodes Scholar and counterinsurgency authority who is Minerva Professor in the U.S. Naval Academy History Department. From a list compiled by the Warlord Loop, a private email forum for national security experts.

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