The dirty little secret is that what saved the Pentagon from disaster was the fact the gunman was unaware of a gaping hole in Pentagon security, and therefore fortunately didn’t know how to exploit it.

If North Korea, or Iran were to threaten the world with a nuclear armed missile, I would like to know — and I would like for THEM to know — we have a good chance of bringing it down over their territory.

“A guy, we can’t tell you who, told us something, we can’t tell you what, that makes us think you’re a terrorist, but we can’t tell you why.” Our nation is defined, not by the attacks upon us, but our response.

From 15,000 feet up, Haiti’s unrealized potential is obvious, as is the cruel fate that has befallen the cursed half of the island of Hispaniola.

Ironically the redundancy between the The CIA and the NCTC which should have help ensure this didn’t fall through the cracks, didn’t work. It was sort of like watching two baseball outfielders allow an easy fly ball drop between them, each thinking the other was going to take the initiative.

But what Yemen underscores is that al Qaida no longer needs Afghanistan as a base of operations. It can, and does, operate from any number of countries. In this Internet age, it can be anywhere. So the massive investment in rebuilding Afghanistan provide only the same false sense of security and accomplishment, as did the Maginot line after WW1.

Skeptics of missile defense should take note of Russia’s paranoia about the U.S. missile defense in Europe.

IIn the U.S. Army, married sex is okay, but conception is not, at least not while deployed in Iraq. An Army commander, Maj. Gen Tony Cuculo, has issued a general order, prohibiting sperm in his sector in Iraq (Multi-division north, from comingling with enemy eggs in any ovaries under his command.

Paying off the enemy to switch sides worked in Iraq, why not Afghanistan?

The strategy President Obama has settled on, even with its limitations and reservations, may be the best of bad options. But the speech fell short of making the case. Bottom line: Right strategy, wrong message.