“If, as Clausewitz so justly said, war is a continuation of national policy, so are war plans.” –Barbara W. Tuchman, The Guns of August, 1962 Over the next two presidential debates, we can expect questions for Hillary Clinton and Donald … Continue reading
Many of those reading this article remember The Gong Show. It ran on NBC from June 1976 to July 1978 and briefly reprised in the 1980s. It featured amateur talent, much of it rendering absurd humor. Three judges awarded ridiculous … Continue reading
There were 2,709,918 Americans who served in the Vietnam War. Of that number approximately 850,000 are alive. The youngest is 54. Because there were senior officers and non-commissioned officers in Vietnam who fought in World War II, the oldest are … Continue reading
The Armed Services Committee (ASC) recently approved a measure requiring American women aged 18 to 26 to register for the draft and sent it to the full House for consideration. If this measure becomes law it will do nothing to … Continue reading
“Si vis pacem, para bellum” (“If you want peace, prepare for war”) On April 11-12, two Russian SU-24 fighter-bombers made repeated low-level passes over the USS Donald Cook, an American destroyer sailing in the Baltic Sea. The ship’s crew recorded … Continue reading
“The mob is the mother of tyrants.” –Diogenes of Sinope In late August 1968, two months after an assassin killed presidential candidate Senator Robert Kennedy and shortly after Republicans nominated Richard Nixon for president, the Democrats gathered in Chicago to pick … Continue reading
Recent revelations by the Pentagon’s inspector general indicates that U.S. Central Command, which bears responsibility for military operations in the Middle East, altered intelligence analyses to support the Obama administration’s contention that limited air strikes have “contained ISIS.” If so, … Continue reading
My parents originally named me “Victory Japan” because my slightly premature birth resulted from mom and dad dancing in the streets of Saint Petersburg, Florida, on the night of August 16, 1945—the day after the United States won its last … Continue reading
The Vietnam War provides lessons in how to lose. The United States never planned to defeat its opponents, the indigenous southern Viet Cong guerrillas and their northern supporters the Peoples’ Army of Vietnam. Instead, from 1964 until 1969—during President Lyndon … Continue reading
For months now, ISIS has sold oil on the international market through Turkey, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is furious with petroleum prices plunging along with Russia’s economy. Consider that context as we consider the following. On November 24, Turkish … Continue reading
“ Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but above all thou shalt not be a bystander” –Yehuda Bauer, Professor of History and Holocaust Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Obama administration’s weak and failing … Continue reading
“One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.”–Joseph Stalin Late in the afternoon of December 25, 1991, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, declared his office closed, and handed over the keys to Russia’s nuclear deterrent to President Boris … Continue reading
“Next to a battle lost, the greatest misery is a battle gained.” —Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, June 19, 1815 The Battle of Waterloo—a series of bloody encounters between French, Anglo-Dutch, and Prussian armies fought over four days—culminated with … Continue reading
Iran acts like a Persian Gulf hegemon because it can. Tehran’s military, while capable of making a less-than-concerted attack costly, would be overmatched by the armed forces of the United States and those of the Persian Gulf states and crumble … Continue reading
The Russian-built S-300 anti-aircraft/anti-ballistic missile (AA/ABM, carrying the NATO designation SA-10, codenamed “Grumble”), while not the world’s most advanced surface-to-air defensive weapon, roughly equates to the American Patriot system. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decree promptly lifting former President Dmitry Medvedev’s … Continue reading
“A Great nation cannot wage a little war.” –Duke of Wellington to Parliament, 1838 In September 1964, shortly after Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to conduct military operations against North Vietnam, the administration tasked … Continue reading
“The logical end of a war of creeds is the final destruction of one.” –T.E. Lawrence Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on February 5, President Barack Obama cautioned against judging recent barbaric attacks by ISIS as unique to Islam. … Continue reading
“We have tried since the birth of our nation to promote our love of peace by a display of weakness. This course has failed us utterly.” &endash;Gen. George C. Marshall, 1945 War remains, as a Prussian general defined it nearly … Continue reading
“We have tried since the birth of our nation to promote our love of peace by a display of weakness. This course has failed us utterly.” -Gen. George C. Marshall, 1945 War remains, as a Prussian general defined it nearly … Continue reading
It took some time for the nation to appreciate the services offered and sacrifices endured by men and women who served during the Vietnam War. In addition to 58,000 deaths, there remains the enduring physical and psychological trauma experienced by … Continue reading
