Word: iraq
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...mind in combat. Ewan McGregor—whose role in “Revenge of the Sith,” another comedy about mental powers, no doubt prepared him for this one—plays Bob Wilton, the reporter who ill-advisedly tags along with Clooney into American-occupied Iraq. Rounding out our star-studded ensemble is Kevin Spacey as Larry Hooper, Cassady’s rival from their training days, in what is essentially a cameo role...
What is Cassady’s secret mission in Iraq? Does he really have psychic powers? What does the film have to say about modern America’s involvement in the Middle East? Alas, this movie is not the place to find answers to these questions, or pretty much any of the others posed by its premise. Answers would imply it is in the business of making sense, which it decidedly is not. There is a pretense of political parable—an honest Iraqi who shelters our heroes, a stereotypical condescending American contractor preparing to exploit a country...
...Army had ordered Hasan, wrestling with the conflicting demands of being a soldier, a psychiatrist and a Muslim, to the post with the highest toll of Army suicides. Fort Hood is one of the Army's most stressed posts because of its units' revolving-door deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Finally, the Army made clear that Hasan couldn't escape his own pending deployment to Afghanistan, where he'd have to salve the mental wounds of fellow soldiers killing members of his own faith. (See pictures of the Fort Hood shooting...
...lifting of diplomacy. But by naming Clinton, Obama also gave her great power, which cuts both ways: if she becomes dissatisfied with her role or the Administration's policies, she can become a torpedo aimed at the Oval Office. Colin Powell had similar power and a real gripe - the Iraq war - but never used it. Clinton has no such gripe, but as the Obama Administration settles in and policy differences begin to emerge among the key players, the Powell conundrum looms: How will Clinton choose to use her power? How will Obama react if and when she does...
...party talks. Clinton argues, correctly, about the need for "strategic patience." But the only thing Obama really has to show for his efforts so far is a Nobel Prize for Potential and - no small thing - the wisdom to have refrained from doing anything so wildly stupid as invading Iraq. The President has been willing to use military force - the Predator drones that have decimated al-Qaeda's leadership testify to his lack of squeamishness - but this Administration is supposed to be about the efficacy of using subtler expressions of U.S. power. That doesn't happen overnight, but for Obama...