Word: brasses
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Iraq commander General George Casey "will make the decisions as to how many troops we have there." Seasoned military people suspected that the line was a dodge--that the civilians who ran the Pentagon were testing their personal theory that war can be fought on the cheap and the brass simply knew better than to ask for more. In any case, the President repeated the mantra to dismiss any suggestion that the war was going badly. Who, after all, knew better than the generals on the ground...
...brass isn't keen on a surge, they also know a bargaining chip when they see one. While Rumsfeld was in charge, the Joint Chiefs were muffled, too scared to say boo in public if it meant crossing the civilian boss. But in early December, once Rumsfeld had resigned, the Army and Marine Corps chiefs increasingly went public with their long-standing gripes that Iraq has stretched their forces to the breaking point, damaging recruiting and diminishing readiness. Bush moved quickly to quell this startling revolt: within days he hinted that he might ask Congress to enlarge the overall size...
...other members of the military's top brass are quietly questioning the lack of a clear-cut strategy. "What is the objective? Does the President want Iraq to look like Iowa?" asks one retired senior officer. "What has finally put some backbone in the Joint Chiefs is that, to date, there has not been a realistic endstate identified that matches the reality on the ground. They still don't get it. Tactics without a strategy are a recipe for disaster...
...That semantic shift underscores what many defense analysts see as an increasing divide between the top military brass and the civilian leadership on how to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan...
...circus act-it's a celebration of the migratory tradition, and of the cycle of life modern society seems to have forgotten. Resplendent brides, angry fathers, jealous rivals and belly dancers race around the circular arena on their beautiful steeds, as dueling bands-strings from Transylvania and brass from Moldavia-drive the whole spectacle toward climax. Battuta offers feasts and romance, weddings and funerals, imbuing them with the absurdity and surrealism of dreams. As the furious crescendo finally tapers and night falls, a violin draws a melancholic tune while the caravan beds down, their horses shifting in the darkness. After...