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

While we were out: A crime roundup

–The entire police force in Veracruz, Mexico, was fired. The force was disbanded because it was rotten with drug cartel infestation.  –A guy who had been an Illinois National Guard major was sentenced to five years in the pokey for accepting kickbacks on contracts for construction at the Bagram base in Afghanistan. He also has ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
Danny Guy / Flickr
Danny Guy / Flickr
Danny Guy / Flickr

--The entire police force in Veracruz, Mexico, was fired. The force was disbanded because it was rotten with drug cartel infestation. 

–The entire police force in Veracruz, Mexico, was fired. The force was disbanded because it was rotten with drug cartel infestation. 

–A guy who had been an Illinois National Guard major was sentenced to five years in the pokey for accepting kickbacks on contracts for construction at the Bagram base in Afghanistan. He also has to pay a cool half million bucks in restitution. That should help the defense budget for a minute or two.

–The XO of the USS New York was fired for becoming overly familiar in a consensual fashion with a female crewmember.

–The Army charged eight soldiers in the 25th Infantry Division with hazing a fellow soldier and hounding him toward suicide. This reminded me of our recent discussion of hazing at West Point. It is unclear to me how much of it still goes on at the military academy, but it seems to me that none should be tolerated. Good military discipline can be achieved without hazing, and in fact is better without it.  

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.