War

As University of Minnesota bioethicist and torture expert Dr. Steven Miles was researching the deaths of detainees in U.S. custody, he noticed something strange. Although the Department of Defense had in the past issued press releases when detainees died at U.S.-run prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan, at some point in 2006, he says, the “entire prisoner death reporting system was turned off in Afghanistan.” Although at that time deaths in Iraq were still being reported, he says, that system was “turned off” at the beginning of 2008.

U.S. Rep. John Kline knows his buttons. As a Marine, he stayed at the side of Presidents Reagan and Carter, carrying the satchel known as the “nuclear football” that holds the how-to kit for pressing the most fearsome button of all. Now he’s once again the go-to guy, carrying the ball for Republicans who want [...]

Repurpose the trade missions, Gov. Pawlenty. Pack your old USO suitcase, Sen. Franken. Minnesota needs its most experienced road warriors for an emergency PR mission to the rest of the world: Neutralize Richard Holbrooke! The U.S. Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan has been going around Paris today dissing the Gopher State’s best efforts at [...]

A new study says the net economic impact of the 2008 Republican National Convention on Minnesota’s economy was $170 million, Minnesota Public Radio reports. (The research was done for the Minneapolis St. Paul 2008 Host Committee by the University of St. Thomas’ Center for Retail Excellence, so you know it’s good.) But when the St. [...]

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has vowed to co-sponsor a bill that would restrict the United States’ use of cluster bombs, rendering as many as half a billion stockpiled weapons off-limits. That’s according to activists who say the announcement — made at a meeting with her Wednesday, after months of pressure by Minnesota citizens and peace groups — came as a surprise.

Why would young Somali men living in Minnesota return to their war-ravaged homeland to wage jihad? That’s the thorny question that’s been debated by the Somali community and federal investigators since the mysterious disappearances of as many as 20 young men surfaced last year.

Last summer Tom Elko posted here about barrels containing who-knows-what that U.S. Army contractors sank in Lake Superior 50 years ago. Last night, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa told a Duluth audience about its plans to begin bringing those barrels to the surface next summer.

Sen. Al Franken says his first bill in the Senate will be one to provide service dogs to veterans. A longtime USO entertainer for troops stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, Franken said training service dogs to work with physically and emotionally wounded veterans is a cost-saving measure.

If Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office still uses those “While You Were Out” notes, his Monday-morning stack would make interesting reading. During his weekend trip to Iraq, Pawlenty was called a GOP “star” like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, and his name came up in speculation about which unnamed governor was reportedly also serviced by one of former [...]

Rep. Keith Ellison says U.S. authorities are trying to help the missing Minnesota youth thought to be caught up with a radical Islamic faction in war-torn Somalia return to the United States. Ellison told Minnesota Public Radio that he’s been briefed on classified information about the issue.