Anthony Cordesman says he can only give the Pentagon a grade of “F” for its most recent quarterly report on the situation in Iraq. The veteran defense analyst of the Center for Strategic and International Studies decries the report as “deeply flawed” with “basic analytical and statistical mistakes.” Cordesman offers a 14-page rebuttal, attacking point after point, of a report he calls both “dishonest and incompetent.” His bottom line: If the “high risk strategy” for Iraq stands “any chance of success,” it must have “bipartisan persistence and sustained US effort. This requires trust, and trust cannot [be] built without integrity.” (Cordesman has his own analysis of the Iraq experience.)
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.