WORLD
August 30, 2010 | By Liz Sly, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Joint Security Station Constitution, Iraq -- The soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team are, as their designation implies, trained and equipped to fight. They have a fleet of tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. They carry their M-16 rifles slung over their shoulders at all times, ready to shoot if they are attacked. But since they deployed to Iraq eight months ago, they haven't fired their guns. Their tanks and Bradleys sit unused in a lot at the sprawling Camp Victory beside Baghdad airport.
OPINION
March 9, 2008 | Michael Scheuer, Michael Scheuer worked at the CIA for 22 years. He was the first chief of its Osama bin Laden unit, and he helped create its rendition program, which he ran for 40 months. His newest book is "Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam after Iraq."
In this age of mindless phrases, such as "out-of-the-box thinking" and "a time for change," another silly phrase -- favored by presidents Bush, Clinton and Bush -- is causing America's defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The phrase is "small, light and fast," and it refers to the kind of military that they think we need to have.
OPINION
October 10, 2006 | JOEL STEIN, jstein@latimescolumnists.com
IAM PRO-TORTURE. And I don't mean just the music-blaring, sleep-deprivation, forced-standing kind. I'm for tearing out lamp wires, wetting a guy down and shocking his nipples while staring at him with your one crazy blue eye and one crazy green eye and screaming, "I am not going to ask you again! Where is the bomb?!" Admittedly, most of what I know about interrogation is from the TV show "24."
MAGAZINE
April 3, 2005
Dan Neil's March 6 column ("What a Rush") inspired such shock and awe in this reader that a copy of it is now making the rounds at the office. Consider the sheer force of intellect in his contemplation of Southern California freeways: The man not only sees beauty in "the escalades of the HOV lanes" while driving his favorite stretches of freeway late at night, but he actually finds a reason for living here! We look forward to more columns from Dan Neil. Gene Heck Architectural historian, Caltrans District 8 San Bernardino
OPINION
September 28, 2004 | Michael Keane, Michael Keane is a fellow of the U.S. Department of Defense's National Security Education Program and a lecturer on strategy at USC's Marshall School of Business.
"Shock and awe," that jarring conjunction of trauma and wonderment, was the Pentagon's original strategy for a quick victory in Iraq. A blizzard of cruise missiles would crash down on Iraq's command-and-control nodes in a dazzling display of explosive firepower that would paralyze the enemy's leadership. Now, however, it is the ongoing kidnapping and beheading of civilians and the widespread dissemination of pictures and videos of these brutalities that instead shock us.
OPINION
August 30, 2004
Re "Taking a Ride on Disney's Dark Side," Commentary, Aug. 26: I very much enjoyed reading Jonathan Turley's account of the wickedly good time he had at Disneyland. I too had found the experience to be very unsettling and for some of the same reasons. The sheer amount of organization and manipulation of "guests" struck me with more than a little shock and awe -- only a totalitarian state could muster such efficiency. On the other hand, I can recall seeing an interview with a very successful school principal in the San Fernando Valley who had been inspired to study hard and come to the U.S. from China after she saw photos of Disneyland.