U.S. Defense

I just finished previewing an upcoming PBS program on the drawdown of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The segment is part of the Great Decisions in Foreign Policy television series produced by the Foreign Policy Association and hosted by former CNN World Affairs Correspondent Ralph Begleiter. This is the 42nd season it has been […]

2,500 years ago the warrior philosopher Sun Zsu said: “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road to safety or to ruin. Therefore, it is a subject that must be thoroughly studied.” I start out with a quote from the old guy […]

Would President Obama’s new security strategy, a plan for a “leaner” U.S. military, unveiled earlier this month, have prevented the Iraq War were it adopted a decade sooner? Sarwar Kashmeri, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council and the Foreign Policy Association, makes just this point in his analysis of U.S. defense strategy in the […]

On New Year’s Eve, President Barack Obama signed into law the post-9/11 practice of detaining terrorist suspects indefinitely without charge. Shock and awe waves rippled through the blogosphere in response to the move, not least because Obama had threatened to veto an earlier version of the bill. Other grumbles included its lack of temporal or […]

The end of 2011 is fast approaching and with it the departure of U.S. forces and equipment from Iraq by December 31st so thought I’d pass on some of my thoughts. In November, I participated in two Department of Defense sponsored Bloggers Roundtables on our force drawdown efforts there. One was with Army Brigadier General […]

Over the last month I’ve participated in two Department of Defense sponsored Bloggers roundtable on Afghanistan and one sponsored by the Army on the role and importance of our forces in Europe to our National Security policy. What I like about these forums is it gives me an opportunity to hear views about important topics […]

Operation Unified Protector, NATO’s mission in Libya, is winding down. Claiming victory, the Obama administration is chiding those who opposed U.S. involvement. While NATO has succeeded in preventing Muammar Qadhafi from further targeting civilians, the mission has exposed a significant alliance weakness: the unfair sharing of the burden for common defense among NATO members. In […]

 “The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”  Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel One hundred years hence, when historians study the factors that led to the economic decline of the United States, it is likely that they will mark the first week of August, 2011 as a crisp break in […]

I woke today to media reports that 15 American soldiers had been killed this June marking the highest monthly fatality totals since June 2008, when there were a total of 23 fatalities.  The tone of the reports was one of surprise and an underlying view that this was a new development and our efforts in […]

I just watched President Obama’s talk on Afghanistan and thought I’d share my first thoughts.  At this point it might be useful to review the President’s goals and objectives for Afghanistan as outlined in his December 2009 speech at West Point. “ Our overarching goal remains the same:  to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda […]

Been consumed by family related errands in Alabama this week so in addition to having to deal with 100 plus degree heat, have not had time to blog.  The heat gave me flash backs to my times in the Mideast desert during my military active duty days which in turn reminded me I have one […]

Here’s the conclusion to my series on Afghanistan based on several Department of Defense sponsored Bloggers Roundtables I participated in over the last several weeks.  On May 3rd, Major General Richard Mills, United States Marine Corp, spoke on the topic The Evolving Security Situation in Afghanistan.  General Mills is the former commander, Regional Command Southwest.  […]