Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
John Q. Bolton We reached in China the exact opposite of what had been our object. – Barbara Tuchman The chaotic 2021 American departure from Afghanistan inevitably invites comparisons to the 1975 fall of South Vietnam. Pictures of helicopters evacuating rooftops evoke feelings of helplessness of an erstwhile partner government collapsing. But before Afghanistan, Iraq, …
Continue reading "Afghanistan Isn’t 1975 South Vietnam, It’s 1948 China"
China is regarded by many defense and strategy experts as a significant threat to U.S.’s national security and global influence. This sentiment was shared by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and current Undersecretary of Defense for Policy John Rood. Conversely, China views the U.S. in a similar light. On March 5, 2021, General Xu …
Author's Note: This is a satirical article meant to highlight the absurdity of Russia’s reportedly low COVID-19 infection rate and it’s continued use of hybrid warfare in conflicts with its neighbors. After a frenzied 24 hours of military activity, President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian military has sent assistance to the Baltic countries of …
Continue reading "Russian Military to Occupy Baltics to Prevent COVID-19 Infections"
The common perception of the 2004 film Mean Girls is a memorable teen comedy. This is wholly incorrect. Mean Girls is a primer on the risks of an unrestrainedly realist approach to hegemonic transition, and a stirring endorsement of multilateral arbitration. The story begins when Cady Heron, previously home-schooled, arrived at North Shore High School. …
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The world of international relations is fraught with peril these days. Old alliances are frayed, new enemies seem to be hiding behind every tree, and we find ourselves unlikely bedfellows with many countries. In short, we've basically become a Taylor Swift song. Yes, she has become the troubadour of our times, with apt descriptions of …
Continue reading "Taylor Swift Songs as U.S. International Relations"
Marvel Studios' BLACK PANTHER..L to R: Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) .Ph: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018 By Matthew Ader In 2016, there was a coup d’état in Wakanda. Using a combination of foreign training and racialist rhetoric, Erik Stevens overthrew the T’Challa administration. Although his regime was destroyed a few …
Continue reading "The Wakandan Civil War: A Profile in State Reconstruction"
A few weeks back, I was asked to speak to some high school students about the U.S. Army in the post-Vietnam time period. At first I had no idea what I was going to say. How would I get high schoolers fired up about the demise of the Active Defense doctrine and the rise of …
Continue reading "Carte Blanche Foreign Policy: the Curse of the All-Volunteer Force"
Carl von Clausewitz famously wrote, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” In today’s climate, it would be truer to say, “Star Wars is the representation of politics by other means.” From the echoes of Vietnam in A New Hope and company in the 1970s and ‘80s to the heavy-handed anti-imperialistic tones of …
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"Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy." - John Adams, Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives on Foreign Policy (July 4, 1821) Monsters. For the Clinton administration, it …
Continue reading "In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Trump Administration and Iran"
Today’s guest post comes from Barefoot Boomer. Boomer is a career Army officer and strategist. He is also a historian with an emphasis in American and German military history. The content and opinions of this article are the author’s only and do not reflect the opinions of the United States Army or the Department of Defense. *disclaimer: …
Continue reading "Donald Trump’s Generals Comments, Explained"
The Angry Staff Officer 
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