DeM Banter: General Barno has had some very interesting pieces as of late. This is one we probably all have to agree with...but it is really about the "and...." And what? And then? This seems incredibly obvious...so what are we doing about it? The machine that is Washington DC takes so long to change, adapt, …
Creating A Global Vacuum By Michael Gerson
DeM Banter: Argh! Where are we going? ...Just looking for "the plan." Totally understand we can't be all things to all people...and we need cuts...but ??? Thoughts? Washington Post March 19, 2013 Pg. 13 Declining national influence is a choice, and America seems to be making it. What foreign policy practitioners politely call the "churn" …
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The Cart…The Horse…and Commitment: DeMarco Banter
"The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come …
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Budget Cutting Spurs Hagel To Order Pentagon Review Of Year-Old Strategy By Craig Whitlock
DeM Banter: So many issues here... was the "pivot" every really feasible? Was it ever really a "strategy?" But what troubles me is the quote from the CJCS..."...we'll need to adjust our ambitions to match our abilities." What could be more against what America has always stood for? Were we not the land of dreamers? …
America The Retirement Home: An aging nation keeps us from an honest budget debate By Robert J. Samuelson
DeM Banter: Well there's a bumper sticker for you...."America The Retirement Home." Not making the tough call and choices...is still making a choice...no? As Rush once said..."If you choose not to decide...you still have made a choice." Tough, tough, tough choices must be made, but isn't that why we send folks to Washington? Thoughts? Washington …
Smart Drones By Bill Keller
DeM Banter: ...and so it goes... New York Times March 17, 2013 Pg. SR7 IF you find the use of remotely piloted warrior drones troubling, imagine that the decision to kill a suspected enemy is not made by an operator in a distant control room, but by the machine itself. Imagine that an aerial robot …
Nato ‘Faces Soviet-Style Failure In Afghanistan’ By Ben Farmer
DeM Banter: there's that annoying history thing again... London Daily Telegraph March 16, 2013 Pg. 24 ....in Kabul NATO troops in Afghanistan are in a similar situation to the failed Soviet invasion and are waging a campaign that is "unwinnable in military terms", according to a Ministry of Defence analysis. Both the Nato campaign and …
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UN denounces US drone use in Pakistan
DeM Banter: probably the biggest single issue with RPAs and it gets very little press in the US...hence we turn to Aljazeera and the UN (I know...I hear ya...the UN? Aljazeera The United States has violated Pakistan's sovereignty and destroyed tribal structures with unmanned aerial drone strikes in its counterterrorism near the Afghan border, a …
Report: Chinese Drone ‘Swarms’ Designed to Attack American Aircraft Carriers By Jason Koebler
DeM Banter: The Chinese are clearly in the hunt with "drone" technology... where are the Russians? The Iranians? nK? Proliferation? Is the US innovative enough to stay ahead in this game...or to regain the lead (if this article is correct)? Interesting times.... View Original China's fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, could be technologically …
With Drone Warfare, America Approaches The Robo-Rubicon By Robert H. Latiff and Patrick J. McCloskey
DeM Banter: This is something we have been pondering here at the MCG for a long time...it is not difficult to see where this line is going. The bigger issue... the "train has left the station," and it is not going backwards. So how do we embrace this change and lead responsibly? The technology is …
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