In 1994, I was in my first year as director of research for the U.S. Army’s Strategic Studies Institute. Part of our mission was to consider how the Army might respond to various strategic threats. Fifteen very bright people, to … Continue reading
Last weekend, U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, representing a Taliban delegation, signed an agreement that could lead to substantive peace negotiations between all parties involved in what has become America’s longest war. In October 2001, … Continue reading
“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life” Plato Howard Mumford Jones, an English professor at the University of Michigan and later at Harvard, long ago commented that American colleges and … Continue reading
My father was a Presbyterian minister in rural northwest Alabama from 1961 to 1965. I came of age there, then left the University of Alabama with an M.A. in history in 1969. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Governor George … Continue reading
While all the rage in education, my hackles rise when an educator declares, “We learn from our students” or “Students should construct their own knowledge.” Granted, the 55 years since I was a freshman may explain my antediluvian notion that … Continue reading
Raids, like Operation Kayla resulting in the death of Abu-Bakr al-Baghdadi and other ISIS terrorist leaders, are usually small affairs with limited results. Nevertheless, such meticulously planned and superbly executed raids also can have significant strategic implications. Roughly five decades … Continue reading
Tonight, President Donald Trump will visit Minneapolis. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated, “While there is no legal mechanism to prevent the president from visiting, his message of hatred will never be welcome in Minneapolis.” For those too young to remember, … Continue reading
Presidential proclamation, along with decrees by state governors, have served to establish September 20 as a national day of recognition for thousands of American service personnel who remain missing in action. Since World War II, over 81,000 Americans who served … Continue reading
In November 1971, after serving a year as an intelligence officer supporting the secret American war in Laos, I returned to an assignment in the Intelligence Early Warning Center (INEW) at Headquarters, Strategic Air Command (SAC), near Omaha. The INEW … Continue reading
Yesterday, President Donald Trump imposed more economic sanctions on Iran. In response, Iranian officials denounced the sanctions. Does diplomacy have a chance in this situation? Or is war inevitable? Going to war is the highest responsibility of any government. Once violence … Continue reading
The news program “60 Minutes” recently interviewed two F-22 Raptor pilots who, without Air Force approval, announced they would no longer fly the Raptor due to unresolved problems in its oxygen system resulting in a number of cases of hypoxia. … Continue reading
On Friday, January 4, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute revoked its invitation to honor city native Angela Y. Davis at a February gala event where she was to receive the institute’s Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award. Many individuals … Continue reading
The anniversary of the end of the Great War—despite President Donald Trump visiting pan-European ceremonies in France—passed almost unnoticed in the United States. This is noteworthy because 4,000,000 Americans were mobilized for the war and about 2,000,000 shipped to Europe, … Continue reading
“The great thing is to get the true picture, whatever it is.” —Winston Churchill, 1940 There would be no current storm over security clearances if all such access ended the day people leave government service. In that case President Donald … Continue reading
On June 3, 1961, barely into the fifth month of his presidency, John F. Kennedy met with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Kennedy requested the meeting in February as an “informal” opportunity to become better acquainted. Kennedy had risen rapidly through … Continue reading
“All theory is gray. But forever green is the tree of life.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I have enjoyed every season of the TV series “Homeland.” Writers and producers surely anticipated Hillary Clinton winning the 2016 election because season six … Continue reading
“The art of war is divided between force and stratagem. What cannot be done by force must be done by stratagem.” —Frederick the Great On Saturday morning April 14, over 100 precision-guided munitions, most if not all, cruise missiles fired … Continue reading
“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” —William Shakespeare, “Julius Caesar” Alabama football Coach Paul Bryant’s career ended with the 1982 season, his 25th season at Alabama. Reportedly he told close … Continue reading
Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Hallelujah, amen. —William P. Mackay, 1863 I am right behind Billy Graham on life’s final lap. My first encounter with the evangelist was in 1953 when the Billy Graham Crusade visited the fairgrounds in Chattanooga, Tennessee. … Continue reading
“War is the realm of the unexpected.” — B. H. Liddell Hart, 1950 Early 19th century Prussian general and philosopher Carl von Clausewitz identified “Der Schlag,” or “the punch,” as the vital opening gambit in war. Success depends on military … Continue reading
