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
Military & Foreign Policy
The Soviet-Afghan War at Forty: The “Shocks of ‘79” and the Coming of the Second Cold War
In the early morning hours of Christmas Day 1979, Soviet forces began invading Afghanistan. The international community was shocked by the intervention; even though Afghanistan had been unstable for some time, most assumed that the Soviet Union would stick to … Continue reading
Dropping in on the Veteran Down the Street
Last Tuesday, I picked up three of my kids from church after youth group. It was a little after 5:00. I wasn’t sure what had been on the agenda for the afternoon. “Dad, we had an amazing experience,” my … Continue reading
The Strategic Effect of Operation Kayla
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
Killing Baghdadi Does Not Equal Defeating ISIS
On the night of October 26–27, around 50 soldiers of Delta Force entered Idlib, Syria via helicopter, where they cornered Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic State (IS), in a tunnel under his compound. Baghdadi detonated the … Continue reading
When Collusion Twice Saved the World
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
Showdown with the Ayatollahs: A Dangerous Situation
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 Last of the Bailey Brothers of World War II
Five years ago, for Memorial Day 2014, I wrote about the five Bailey brothers of World War II. This year, I’m writing about them maybe for the last time. Yes, there were no less than five Baileys who served in … Continue reading
Russia Heats Up: New Challenges to U.S. National Security
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
Spending More on Debt than Defense
The financial health of the federal government has been deteriorating for decades. Unable to break free from our bipartisan addiction to deficit spending, the national debt has continued to rise relentlessly. This has brought us within sight of a grim … Continue reading
Losing sight of the Great War in American History
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 remarkable story of an American hero: Frank Kravetz
To help celebrate Veteran’s Day, we invite you to watch an episode of the animated series “Liberty Jr.” In this 10 minute video, we share the story of an American hero: Frank Kravetz, a World War II veteran and former … Continue reading
The Unwarranted Storm Over Security Clearances
“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
George Cahill’s New Constellation
George Cahill was a man with a higher mission fixed to the skies. He volunteered to fight in World War II at the earliest possible age: 17-and-a-half. Both parents signed off, and he headed to gunnery school in Las Vegas. … Continue reading
Summit Asymmetries
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
Memorial Day Reflections, 2018
If there ever was a day in the American calendar that invites reflection, it is Memorial Day. As we pause to remember and honor the hundreds of thousands of our compatriots who have laid down their lives while serving in … Continue reading
The Grand Strategy of the Trump Administration
“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
Whither Congress?
The news that President Donald Trump authorized the U.S. military to strike a Syrian chemical manufacturing facility is hardly surprising. Even without the potential incentive to distract the news media from Robert Mueller’s investigation and the next phase of James … Continue reading
Limiting the Coming War
“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
North Korea: Avoid a Needless War
“To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” —Sun Tzu The recent bogus Hawaiian nuclear alert puts the smoldering crisis with North Korea in perspective. Although most experts believe it will be a year before North Korea’s … Continue reading