Anthology of Interest

Scholars from the RAND Corporation, a thinktank with historically strong ties to the Pentagon, posted a research brief concluding that, since 1968, military force has rarely caused the end of a terrorist organization.

From the abstract:

How do terrorist groups end? The evidence since 1968 indicates that terrorist groups rarely cease to exist as a result of winning or losing a military campaign. Rather, most groups end because of operations carried out by local police or intelligence agencies or because they join the political process. This suggests that the United States should pursue a counterterrorism strategy against al Qa'ida that emphasizes policing and intelligence gathering rather than a “war on terrorism” approach that relies heavily on military force.

I'm totally not qualified to comment on their research, but it's quite interesting as a layman. Perhaps someone should pass it along to Barack "We need more troops in Afghanistan" Obama

Stop the press!

In the midst of all the traveling, moving, and starting a new practice hoopla, I thought I'd break radio silence. Why? Because Ted Stevens has been indicted!!! Seven counts of filing false financial disclosures--a crime that doesn't sound too sensational, but it could make it hard to run for reelection. And here I was giving the Democrats about a 4 in 10 chance of picking up the seat with Mark Begich. Definitely read a reputable news source to get the whole story.