Category: Strategy/Policy

Blogger's note: nice work by Arquilla...all the pessimism I've been moaning about for weeks....with a healthy dose of optimism. I like it! Tampa Tribune June 24, 2012 Technology has made conflict cheaper, safer and faster--and the world is better for it. "It is well that war is so terrible," Confederate General Robert E. Lee once …

Continue reading "The Cool War By John Arquilla"

Blogger's note: Mark Clayton comments "some....have called Stuxnet the digital equivalent of the first nuclear attack on Hiroshima." Yet, Ralph Langner notes below "It can be argued that the time was ripe for history's first cyber weapon, and having it come from China or Russia would have created another unpleasant Sputnik experience." Although it does …

Continue reading "Stuxnet Cyberweapon Set To Stop Operating By Mark Clayton"

Blogger's Note:  This is only going to continue to get louder... not hearing much from DC...yet... June 22, 2012 Pg. 26 Others may adopt similar strategy, rapporteur warns; Alleged strikes on rescuers 'would be war crimes' By Owen Bowcott, Geneva The US policy of using aerial drones to carry out targeted killings presents a major …

Continue reading "US Drone Attacks Threaten 60 Years Of International Law, Says UN Official, The Guardian (UK)"

Norfolk Virginian-Pilot June 22, 2012 Associated Press WASHINGTON--A Pentagon review recommends ridding the combat pay system of inequities that have allowed officers thousands of miles from battle to get better benefits proportionally than troops on the front lines in Afghanistan. The recommendations in a review released Thursday are likely to anger service members. But the …

Continue reading "Pentagon Recommends Tiered System For Combat Pay By Lolita C. Baldor,"

View original By Ellen Messmer, Network World June 18, 2012 05:11 PM ET Revelations by The New York Times that President Barack Obama in his role as commander in chief ordered the Stuxnet cyberattack against Iran's uranium-enrichment facility two years ago in cahoots with Israel is generating controversy, with Washington in an uproar over national-security …

Continue reading "Stuxnet cyberattack by US a ‘destabilizing and dangerous’ course of action, security expert Bruce Schneier says"

Blogger's note: know Dr Tom Henriksen from time at Hoover...despite being a VMI grad...he is top notch, so my question might be irrelevant. But I would ask...all examples below focus on effective "saber rattling" after a victorious conflict or engagement....we might be on the other end of that now. A decade plus of expended blood …

Continue reading "Time For U.S. To Rattle The Saber By Thomas Henriksen"

TheDailyBeast.com June 18, 2012 Blogger's Note: classic..."Then what?" dialog... Before jumping into Egypt or Syria, the U.S. needs to think about what comes next, next, and next. And then, don’t jump, writes Leslie H. Gelb. Only American foreign-policy experts who know only “policy” and nothing about actual countries would dare to choose sides in Mideast …

Continue reading "Leslie H. Gelb on Egypt, Syria: Take a Deep Breath, America"

Blogger's note: interesting, how does the US uphold international law here? For or against the operations, one has to ponder the precedent and how it would apply to other nations--not to mention a deflation of war...and against who? Reuters.com June 19, 2012 GENEVA -- A U.N. investigator has called on the Obama administration to justify …

Continue reading "U.N. Investigator Decries U.S. Use Of Killer Drones By Stephanie Nebehay"

Blogger's note: love contrarian views...but, not so sure I agree...but its got me thinking.. USA Today June 18, 2012 Pg. 7 Proliferation would actually increase stability in Middle East The past several months have witnessed a heated debate over the best way for America and Israel to respond to Iran's nuclear activities. Although the U.S., …

Continue reading "Iranian Nukes? No Worries By Kenneth Waltz"