The Senate, in an amendment to this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, accepted a measure written by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) calling for a continued drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan, at a “steady pace” through the end of 2014, and a close to all combat operation “at the earliest date” possible.

The news here is that Merkley got a filibuster-proof majority for that measure, for the first time, with 12 Republicans and 50 out of 51 Democrats in support (Lieberman, of course, voted no; Wyden and McCaskill didn’t vote today).

A day after we hear about the disposition matrix, the drone wars and the militarization of the CIA, along comes Scott Shane to pose a question to all the same people who say we can’t afford to leave a legacy of debt to our children and grandchildren: uh, how do you plan to pay for all that?

To the extent that there is a difference in foreign policy between the two Presidential candidates at this point, it’s that Mitt Romney wants to implement the same exact policies as Barack Obama, but just spend $2 trillion more on defense contracting to carry it out.

While Mitt Romney hid behind Barack Obama and displayed about as much independent thought as a college student who didn’t cram enough the night before the test and spent the whole time looking at his neighbor’s paper, his neighbor Barack Obama reflected so strongly the smoldering wreck that is this nation’s foreign policy consensus.

The crisis between Turkey and Syria intensified today. Turkey’s top military commander warned the Syrians that his country would “respond more strongly” to persistent cross-border attacks that have already killed a handful of Turkish nationals. Turkey has already responded with shelling against targets inside Syria. This threatens opening up a second front in Syria’s civil war, escalating it into a regional conflict. Both sides claim that they want no wider war, but will “defend its territory,” which in the end will look increasingly like a war.

Meanwhile, we had cross-border acts of war administered yesterday between a NATO ally and their neighbor. Turkey struck with artillery strikes on Syria yesterday, after one of their border towns was hit with a mortar, killing 5 Turks. This has the potential to escalate very quickly.

Tonight’s debate is supposed to be focused mainly on the economy, but the Romney campaign has worked hard to get the Benghazi consulate attack into the conversation. And given the shifting story from the White House and the potential implications, that might be a good idea.

Today the US State Department pulled out all of their government personnel from Benghazi – essential personnel and non-essential alike. In the wake of the attack on the US consulate, they have determined the city too unsafe, even after residents drove militia groups operating in Benghazi from their bases. The FBI has still not reached the site of the consulate attack as part of their investigation.

n the heels of yesterday’s announcement that NATO forces will cease joint patrols with their Afghan counterparts after multiple incidents of Afghan army and police shooting and killing troops, a prominent Republican chairman of the House defense appropriations subcommittee has flipped on the war, saying that the US should now withdraw as soon as possible.

The war of words between China and Japan over a chain of uninhabited islands has the potential to escalate in disturbing ways, and destabilize a region that is central to the world’s economic performance.