In light of the current situation in Washington, and recent discussion on this site about national policy, this paper (.pdf) published by the Wilson Center in April 2011 deserves another look.

Written under the pseudonym “Mr. Y” by two members of JCS Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s staff, Navy Captain Wayne Porter and Marine Colonel Mark Mykleby, “A National Strategic Narrative” attempts to describe a long-term vision and defining purpose for the United States, to update and replace the narrative of the last 60 years which was crafted in the context of the Cold War. The thesis is that our national priorities and resources should be committed in accordance with a clear vision of the direction America is headed, to ensure future prosperity and security, bounded by enduring values. Further, that the U.S. should move away from the current threat-based, reactive outlook to a more proactive stance focused on opportunities and interdependence.

A recent decision in an old case has sparked new outrage directed at the Westboro Baptist Church. After Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder was killed in Iraq in 2006, members of the WBC protested at his funeral with their now-familiar “God hates fags” placards, among other such inflammatory rhetoric. His family sued the church (.pdf) for invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress, and won $10.9 million in damages in 2007 (later reduced to $5 million). Last September, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision (.pdf), finding that the WBC’s protests constituted speech that was protected by the First Amendment. Last Friday, the 4th Circuit added that Snyder’s family must pay more than $16,000 requested by WBC for court costs.

In 2007, three U.S. Army soldiers in Baghdad captured four Iraqi men they suspected of being insurgents or terrorists. However, they lacked sufficient evidence to convict the men in an Iraqi courtroom—the standard they needed to meet in order to turn the men in to their unit’s detainee holding area. Their leader, First Sgt. John Hatley, believing that releasing the detainees would endanger the lives of his men, ordered the four Iraqis to be killed, then dumped the bodies in a canal.

On Saturday, the Iranian Parliament voted to declare the U.S. Army and Central Intelligence Agency "terrorist groups."

In a statement, the Parliament cited the "[b]ombing [of] Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic weapons and throwing depleted uranium bombs in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan…" as well as "[support of] Israel in its crackdown on Palestinian and Lebanese people" to justify its resolution. This declaration comes just three days after the U.S. Senate passed a similar resolution that urged the State Department to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a "foreign terrorist organization."

On Tuesday, Steve Jobs confirmed months of rumors by introducing the iPhone, Apple’s entry into the smartphone market.

Roughly the same size as a 30GB iPod, the new device will combine the capabilities of an iPod, cell phone, and PDA, and will be powered by Mac OS X. Features include a 3.5-inch widescreen display, a "multi-touch" interface, Safari web browser, and an HTML e-mail client. The iPhone will be available in 4GB and 8GB models for $499 and $599, respectively—but only with a 2-year service contract with Cingular Wireless. Enthusiasts have some time to wait: the iPhone will not be available for sale until June 2007, so it remains to be seen whose predictions—the fans or the skeptics come true.

In 2003, Michael Crichton gave a speech at the California Institute of Technology in which he warned of the dangers of "consensus science" and its use (or abuse) as a policy-making tool. From the popularization of SETI, to the Cold War scare of nuclear winter, to secondhand smoke and global warming, Crichton contends that many of the consensus conclusions reached by scientists and politicians in recent years have been based on very little or no actual scientific evidence.

"Network neutrality" is a topic of hot debate among Internet content providers, broadband access providers, web surfers, and lawmakers — in other words, almost everyone. But what does it all mean? The term itself is shrouded in controversy, and what sounds like a good idea in theory may have unintended consequences in reality. And do both sides have hidden agendas?

Advocates such as the Save The Internet Coalition define Net Neutrality as non-discrimination in terms of quality of service. In simple terms, everyone should have the same opportunity to access the network without the access provider charging a premium for privileged service. For example, Slashdot shouldn’t get faster network access or more search engine hits than OmniNerd solely because they can afford premium access to the "fast lane." Or, one shouldn’t be forced to use Yahoo instead of Google because the former has ties to Verizon. The network’s only job should be to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.

During the dedication of the "National Museum of the Marine Corps ":http://www.usmcmuseum.org/ on Friday, President Bush announced that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham would be postumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions near Karabilah, Iraq in April 2004.

After stopping several suspicious vehicles near the site of a recent attack, Corporal Dunham was reportedly attacked by an insurgent from one of the cars. During the fight, the insurgent dropped a hand grenade near a group of Marines. Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet, then threw himself on top of it to shield his men from the blast. While he initially survived the explosion, he died eight days later from his wounds.

On Wednesday, CNN.com posted a story that included a video of Iraqi insurgent snipers shooting American soldiers. The piece, produced by CNN’s Baghdad correspondent Michael Ware, started as a simple interview (through intermediaries) with Ibrahim Al-Shimary, the leader of the "Islamic Army." In response to the questions Mr. Ware sent to the insurgent leader, CNN received two videotapes, one with responses to the questions and the other showing several incidents of insurgent snipers attacking U.S. military personnel. The network posted elements of both videos in the final story.

After five years of "An Army of One," the U.S. Army is changing its recruiting slogan in an effort to better relate to its target audience.

Last December, the Army hired McCann-Erickson as its new advertising agency after missing its recruiting goal for 2005 by 8%. Since changing advertising firms, the Army has met its recruiting goal of 80,000 for FY 2006, albeit after raising the eligible age from 35 to 42 and adding 1,500 recruiters to the ranks. The Army’s contract with McCann-Erikson, the agency that created MasterCard’s popular "Priceless; ad campaign, is reportedly valued in excess of $1 billion over five years. And after ten months and almost $200 million worth of research and development, the new slogan is … "Army Strong; The Army is expected to officially launch the new recruiting campaign over Veteran’s Day weekend.