Like the Viet Cong? Where Did Taliban Disappear To?

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There is a potentially eery, disconcerting passage in Dexter Filkins’ interesting report on the Afghan, British and American push into the Taliban stronghold of Marja in Helmand Province. Filkins notes that the opposition didn’t really materialize, despite reports that they had recently received reinforcements.

On Good Authority. . .

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John Podesta on Obama team. I am hearing that Financial Times Washington Bureau Chief Edward Luce has a pretty significant interview with Center for American Progress President and former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta coming out on Monday. Luce recently did a video interview with Senator John McCain.

If You Could See America Through China’s Eyes

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Several years ago, I met with the Deputy Director of the Policy Planning staff of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I asked him what he was working on — and what China’s grand strategy was. His reply: “We are trying to figure out how to keep you Americans distracted in small Middle Eastern countries.

US-Cuba Rejectionist Wall Cracks: Call Joe Garcia

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Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL-21) has announced that he will not seek reelection in November. There is speculation that his brother, Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-25), will shift districts and run for Lincoln’s vacated seat because it is more Republican dominant.

Can’t Say No to Tommy Sowers’ Dog

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I really like Tommy Sowers — and while I normally don’t post appeals to support this Congressman or that, I couldn’t help it in this case. Sowers, a former Special Forces officer who did deployments in Kosovo and Iraq, was also a new media and politics instructor at West Point.