Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

A shoutout to Fred Reed

Best wishes to Fred Reed, the king of curmudgeons, who is hanging up his online column (Fred on Everything) for at least several months while he leaves his Mexican lair for an American cornea transplant. I am bereft. Now I will have nowhere to go for well-written, pungent, political incorrectness mixed with smart military commentary ...

588470_090216_fred22.jpg
588470_090216_fred22.jpg

Best wishes to Fred Reed, the king of curmudgeons, who is hanging up his online column (Fred on Everything) for at least several months while he leaves his Mexican lair for an American cornea transplant.

Best wishes to Fred Reed, the king of curmudgeons, who is hanging up his online column (Fred on Everything) for at least several months while he leaves his Mexican lair for an American cornea transplant.

I am bereft. Now I will have nowhere to go for well-written, pungent, political incorrectness mixed with smart military commentary and libertarian impulses, topped off with a splash of Third World sunshine and tequila. Fred is the Hunter Thompson of the right, and frankly has more street cred with me. Fred’s one of those guys for whom the conversation isn’t serious until you get to crew-served weapons.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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