DeM Banter: When there is no strategy to fall back on... and that pesky thing called history points in a different direction...things don't resonate too well. Washington Post August 28, 2013 Pg. 1 Washington has had mixed success with limited intervention An imminent U.S. strike on Syrian government targets in response to the alleged gassing …
THE FAILED GRAND STRATEGY IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Walter Russell Mead
DeM Banter: Â However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. -Sir Winston Churchill Wall Street Journal August 24, 2013 Pg. C1 The Saturday Essay In the beginning, the Hebrew Bible tells us, the universe was all "tohu wabohu," chaos and tumult. This month the Middle East seems to be reverting to that …
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Mideast Issues/Global Crisis? 18 Aug 2013: Multipul Sources and DeMarco Banter
DeM Banter: Â Ponder a map of the Middle East today... and where there is trouble. Â Off the top of my bald head... we know there is an Egyptian "situation," there is Syria (not getting much press over the past couple days), there is Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan (albeit not true mid east), Pakistan, Yemen, Libya (forgotten), …
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A New Blackbird For Air Force? By Steve Liewer
DeM Banter: Maybe after we get the F-35, the KC-46, the next gen bomber, the space fence back up, fix out nuclear problem, etc.... Omaha World-Herald August 13, 2013 Pg. 1 But budget hawks could shoot down next-generation spy plane Nearly 50 years after its first flight — and 15 years after its last — …
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A Failure To Intercept: New York Times
DeM Banter: and it comes down to this... we can't do it? Really? I think we forget that the first aircraft flew 12 seconds and 120 feet...and we debated if the aircraft would ever be anything more than a novelty. Further, what happens when that first nuke really does launch from Iran, nKorea, or...???... and …
Former Air Force Chief ‘Embarrassed’ By Study Panel By Leigh Munsil
DeM Banter: So many issues here...Gen Fogleman is an amazing leader, big brain, and innovator...but is this the right place for a debate? As always there is much behind the scenes I am sure... so perhaps this is the right time and place. Second...we lean so heavily on the ANG and Reserves now...can we lean …
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What Makes Silicon Valley Unique? by Greg Satell
DeM Banter:  Interesting piece and something I think the military really needs to ponder.  It also harkens back to something I have been pondering for a long time. Microclimates.... and Disruptive Thinking.... innovationexcellence.com / Greg Satell / view original In a recent interview, tech guru Marc Andreessen noted that, although Beijing has great potential to be the next Silicon Valley, it …
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How and Why to Be a Leader (Not a Wannabe) by Umair Haque
DeM Banter: WOW!  Powerful stuff here...Don't know how to say it any better...well, I have an issue with Umair's piece on vision below...but that's  pretty small.  It is all about love... could not agree more.  I penned a piece on love and leadership and never published...I guess it is time to dust that off.  Thoughts? …
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WILL THE U.S. LEARN FROM ITS MISTAKES? By Robert Kagan
DeM Banter:  Lack of vision and strategy, lack of will, lack of money?  Washington Post July 7, 2013 Pg. 17 The United States has generally been a great force for the promotion of democracy around the world. But no one should be surprised that President Obama winked at last week’s military coup in Egypt. …
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Has The Pentagon’s Strategy Shop Gone MIA? By Gordon Lubold
DeM Banter: wait....there's supposed to be a strategy? Who's responsibility is the National Security Strategy from which all other strategies are branched from? See the gear chart... ForeignPolicy.com July 1, 2013 At the cash-strapped Defense Department, the bean counters now have the upper hand. When then U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates began a series of …
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