Pentagon Run-Down

"Assembling reporters to hear someone read a statement without the ability to ask questions risks further damage to the Department's credibility and the military's reputation for candor and trustworthiness. Questions from the press are not something to be feared."

Since Buttigieg is arguing that his military service would make him a better commander in chief than President Donald Trump, your friend and humble narrator is obliged to cover Mayor Pete nonetheless.

"I'd be very surprised if these were Russian or Chinese aircraft operating from Russia or China."

If all of the military services were baseball teams, the Navy would be the 1962 Mets – a team so bad that columnist Jimmy Breslin wrote a book about them called, "Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?"

The Forever Wars have reminded us of the Vietnam-era lesson that decisions about when the United States should go to war, how many troops should be sent to the fight, and what would constitute victory are vexingly complicated.

"There's a difference between killing somebody with the discipline that is inculcated through military training and throwing all that training away and just becoming a commonplace murderer. When we act no better than ISIS, we should not be surprised that we have trouble finding allies or cooperation from local people."

At the moment, it does not appear that the Pentagon is prepared to go full Leroy Jenkins and deploy the 82nd Airborne Division over downtown Caracas.

"The Afghan people know which districts are controlled by the Taliban. The Taliban obviously know which districts they control. Our military knows it. Everybody in Afghanistan knows. The only people who don't know what's going on are people who are paying for all of this, and that's the American taxpayer."

If wisdom comes with age, then one thing this reporter has learned from covering troops for years is this: There are no turning points. That means anyone who claims Afghanistan has "turned the corner" or "a dark and painful era" in Iraqi history has ended either doesn't grasp the nature of the post 9/11 wars or is too afraid of failure to tell the truth.

You deserve answers from the higher ups, who seem obsessed with making your lives more complicated. The Pentagon briefing room isn't big enough for you to hold the military brass' feet to the fire; so by God, they will answer to me.

Before Space Force can land on Klendathu, it needs to get past the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

The words "plan" and "decisions" allow defense officials to play all sorts of rhetorical games about the Syria withdrawal.

"This 'plan,' like the Trump administration's negotiations with the Taliban, is fanciful. Victory will not be had just because you declare it."

Trump wants peace for our time, but his reach often exceeds his grasp.

"I always think of Sen. Graham as an ally and we have shared interests. He is a problem-solver and I am very confident we will come together with solutions for Syria."

Russia and China just have the je ne sais quoi to completely upend the entire world that terrorists can't seem to match.

To cover the Pentagon, one must make it the center of one's universe.

"I don't think the White House staff said: 'Hey, we can get a war going in Venezuela. It will throw manure on your trail.'"

"His views are all in there: his leadership philosophy, his ideas on establishing harmony across large organizations, and the way he compartmentalizes a broad problem set into identifiable, solvable chunks."

The Pentagon says it has been hurting for money, but it may have some extra $100 bills tucked in its thong.

Patrick Shanahan has swallowed the "Red Pill" from the Matrix. Now he'll see how deep this rabbit hole goes.