Law

The U.S. embassy in Kabul says it is firing its frat boy security contractors. This brings to mind a recent news report that the British security guard charged with murdering two of his colleagues in the Green Zone early in August had a criminal record back in the UK. He actually left Britain despite being on probation for robbery and firearms offenses, the papers reported.

Wikimedia Commons

"Lone gunman" -- that evocative phrase that crops up a lot in American history. It may be the foundation of Clint Eastwood's career, which in total is a meditation on violence and how it fits into our society. In his earlier films I think he sought to redeem that psychotic figure, and then in his maturity repented of that impulse, especially in my favorite of his films, Unforgiven.

I mention this because the phrase came up Wednesday in connection with the shooting at the Holocaust Museum here in Washington.

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Finally, Americans may get the right to carry concealed loaded weapons in National Parks. How did we get so far without this privilege?

The irony is that the National Park Service doesn't even allow kayaks on the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park. But now we can pack pistols with our picnics.  

Savannah Grandfather/Flickr

I was surprised and impressed to see two centrist Washington bigwigs -- former diplomat Thomas Pickering and former FBI director William Sessions -- call for an independent commission to look into U.S. government policies on torture and detainees.

It is in the interest of our nation's security that President Obama should immediately appoint such a commission. To move ahead, make our country safer and strengthen the leadership position of the United States, we must have a full understanding of detainee policies and their consequences. Only then can we prevent any mistakes of the past from being repeated.

I am beginning to think this might just happen. And that would be a good thing indeed. We probably need one more round of revelations to push it over the top. Given the nature of things, I expect that murder will out. 

Photo: Flickr user CitizenSheep

Call me a softie, but I don't understand why this murder case involving American troops hasn't gotten more media attention in this country. This seems to me worse than the tortures at Abu Ghraib. According to court testimony, the Army soldiers then dumped the bodies of the four murdered Iraqis in a Baghdad canal.

And Stars & Stripes -- yes, the Pentagon's newspaper -- deserves a shoutout for staying on the story.

Two South Carolina Republicans piped up to say they don't want the Gtmo detainees moved to their neighborhood, either. Thanks for pitching in, fellas!

At this rate the detainees are going to wind up at the New York City jail on Rikers Island -- which actually might be fitting. It reminds me of an exchange I had with a 10^th Mountain Division soldier in the spring of 2002 when we were standing near some dead al Qaeda fighters in the aftermath of the "Anaconda" battle in eastern Afghanistan. "Sergeant, what do you think of all this?" I asked, gesturing at the strewn corpses, and their RPGs and other weapons. He glanced down at the remains of the al Qaeda men, who had been hit by a JDAM, then looked straight at me and quietly said just five words: "Sir, I'm from the Bronx."