Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
Last week, the U.S. hit a Syrian airfield with 59 cruise missiles as retaliation for Syria’s alleged use of banned nerve agents on its own civilian population. Some have questioned whether or not the strike went too far or perhaps did not go far enough. Many - including myself - equated it to the Clinton …
Continue reading "Use of Force: 7 U.S. Military Actions You’ve Never Heard Of"
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 …
Continue reading "Star Wars by Other Means: Rogue One and Foreign Policy"
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 …
Since 2014 and their declaration of the Caliphate, this thing called ISIS has been dominating the news cycle. From destruction of antiquities to the massacre of civilians, ISIS has been losing friends and influencing people in negative ways for quite some time. But even as politicians call for carpet bombing of this non-state pretender-state actor, …
Continue reading "And Then? What Happens After Victory Over Daesh"
There’s a moment on the television show “Scrubs” (the greatest thing to ever air on American television) when the young resident John Dorian (JD) becomes paralyzed by the fear of accidentally killing a patient by making a mistake. In this mindset, he veers away from making any risky decisions or undertaking any procedures that might …
Continue reading "World War III: Stop Trying to Prevent It"
In 2010, as the popular uprisings that comprised the Arab Spring were flaring across the Middle East, more than one commentator must have looked back in time to make comparisons to other democratic revolutions. And as the Arab Spring became drenched in blood, heartache, and divisiveness, that same commentator might have noted with sadness the …
Continue reading "What Do the Revolutions of 1848 Tell us About Modern Politics?"
This post first appeared on the blog Point of Decision. As I write this, the U.S. military is involved in armed and lethal operations in Iraq and Syria. While not officially a war, it is the most significant and — I hate to use the word — kinetic operation the military is involved in. Why then, as a member …
Continue reading "What if We Had a War and No One Knew?"
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the old proverb, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." Well, I've gone and mixed my metaphors most dreadfully by combining it with, "Beware Greeks bearing gifts." Yes, I am now taking a proverb about horse teeth, mixing it with Greek history/mythology, and am going to use …
The Angry Staff Officer 
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