John Boehner:

We live in a dangerous country, and we get reminded every week of the dangers that are out there.

Ivan Sukhov:

Dark storm clouds have descended and there is no sign of light on the horizon.

Samuel Moyn:

Ours remains an era of forever war, one that both American liberals and conservatives agree to go on fighting, while restricting their wrangling to how best to justify it legally.

Dan Geer:

Things that need no appropriations are outside the system of checks and balances.

Mujib Mashal:

In private, U.S. officials admit they don't know how much they've spent on the Afghan war.

Matthieu Aikins:

We stare at each other for a moment, and Mirza Khan gives a chuckle. He shakes his head in amazement. A future hundred grand sitting in the living room of a guy who doesn't have plumbing, electricity or furniture. Someone between him and that junkie is clearly making a killing.

The Economist:

Part of the ingenuity of the schemes, part of the chutzpah, is the way they mix subterfuge with respect for the letter of the law. This was a heist, but a perfectly legal one.

Benedict Evans:

Though the Royal Navy ended WW2 with 55 aircraft carriers of various form factors, ultimately carriers for squadrons of jets were so expensive that the UK economy could not support building a fleet of them and (for this and other reasons) ceded naval supremacy to the US Navy. This is a common theme, incidentally -- 'disruptive' military technology has almost always been more expensive, not cheaper, and the higher cost tended to be as disruptive to the broader environment as the technology itself.

Matt Trevithick and Daniel Seckman:

Nothing conveys the gravity of this war like seeing a drone descend missile-less minutes before another rises into the sky fully loaded.