Progressive Opinion

airamerica.com — It’s hard to pinpoint what’s the most shocking thing about Major Malik Nadal Hasan’s shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas. Let's start with this: there’s nothing all that ground-breaking about it. Happens all the time, it’s just that we’re a nation of amnesiacs who forget all the unpleasantness, and refuse to learn the valuable lessons.

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guardian.co.uk — Whatever was in the mind of alleged shooter Major Nidal Malik Hasan is no reason to question the loyalty of Muslim Americans.

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nytimes.com — In his midnight mission to honor the returning war dead, President Obama did more than personally extend the nation’s condolences to grieving families gathered at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Without uttering a public word, Mr. Obama erased President George W. Bush’s shameful attempts to hide the pain of war from Americans and to shield himself from paying public tribute to the thousands who died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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nytimes.com — Dispatching more troops to Afghanistan would be a monumental bet and probably a bad one, most likely a waste of lives and resources that might simply empower the Taliban. In particular, one of the most compelling arguments against more troops rests on this stunning trade-off: For the cost of a single additional soldier stationed in Afghanistan for one year, we could build roughly 20 schools

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salon.com — You'd never know it from the mainstream media, but he deserves high grades for his work so far in Iran, Iraq and Pakistan .

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mcclatchydc.com — Former President George W. Bush has had the good grace to go into seclusion and not stand on the sidelines second-guessing every move made by his successor. Cheney, by contrast, has taken it upon himself to serve as the chief critic of the Obama administration and chief defender of the Bush administration, even if it requires rewriting history.

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guardian.co.uk — The biggest obstacle to reforming the U.S. economy, health care or foreign policy isn't Republicans — it's the media.

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salon.com — When the Nobel Committee awarded its annual peace prize to President Barack Obama, it afforded him a golden opportunity seldom offered to American war presidents: the possibility of success. Should he decide to go the peacemaker route, Obama stands a chance of really accomplishing something significant. On the other hand, history suggests that the path of war is a surefire loser. As president after president has discovered, especially since World War II, the U.S. military simply can't seal the deal on winning a war.

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salon.com — The country poses no threat to the U.S., but the war costs lives, drains the treasury and makes enemies.

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tomdispatch.com — So you thought the Pentagon was already big enough? Well, what do you know, especially with the price of the American military slated to grow by at least 25% over the next decade?

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