An open letter from William Arkin. Captive to the National Security State? William Arkin quits NBC accusing it of having lost perspective. Arkin is the co-author of the famed (and prescient) Washington Post series “Top Secret America”, an investigative research project of over two years that describes the National Security State buildup
As the global community enters 2019, strategic challenges and demands are writ large. Conflicts are immediate, rising existential threats cross borders, rearmament and resurgent nationalism are growing grave. The relations of China, Russia, and the United States border on near crisis, a darkened horizon with glimpses of light
At the end of the Gregorian calendar year, it’s traditional to deliver a retrospective. Doing our part, Strategic Demands & associate GreenPolicy360 deliver downward spiraling news. The global community has suffered setbacks on two critical security fronts: nuclear & environmental: Nuclear arms control treaties are being set aside ushering in a new nuclear arms race. […]
December 7, 2018 3:50 EST … Donald Trump, Rex Tillerson — Consider U.S. denial of climate change, oil / gas exploration, risks and reality. Recall that in 2011, Tillerson, former CEO of Exxon Mobil, completed an unprecedented oil / gas Arctic development deal with Russia’s Rosneft (see GreenPolicy360 / Arctic for details).
Opportunities, New Vision, GDP+… World Economic Forum: Forget GDP – for the 21st century we need a modern growth measure. GreenPolicy360 / Strategic Demands: We’re working on it. Call it “Eco-nomics“. Think of a next-generation GDP measurement… “GDP+”
As the U.S. energy policy continues to focus on fossil fuels, we at Strategic Demands take a look at the data and consider crude oil proved reserves. It is an appropriate moment to consider the longer term, e.g., the longevity of the U.S. fracking upsurge… and consequences
Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations, asks the question. Do nuclear weapons matter? Strategic Demands replies: Does oblivion matter? Foreign Affairs speaks of nuclear weapons as if they can be rationally used. They are purchased, deployed, and discussed on separate tracks from the rest of the foreign policy agenda, and they are […]
In Memoriam: Jamal Khashoggi What the Arab world needs most is free expression October 17 at 7:52 PM A note from Karen Attiah, Washington Post Global Opinions editor I received this column from Jamal Khashoggi’s translator and assistant the day after Jamal was reported missing in Istanbul.
The fantastical in Hollywood movies is a given as Marvel, DC Comics, Disney, MGM, Universal, Sony fight it out on the sci-fi battlefronts. The Terminator franchise with its Skynet neural-net future ushered in a dystopian future not far from today’s realities… full-spectrum dominance, right?
CyberBattlegrounds Destabilization & Disruption, Implants & Subterfuge … Global connectivity and a worldwide open & dark Internet have activated a new operational field of battle, intrusion and influence. The security horizon is one of CyberProliferation. CyberAttacks must be acknowledged and confronted as security risks — and restricted. “Let’s negotiate this internationally.”
Strategic policy and strategic ramifications, short-, mid-, and long-term. China warns U.S. to withdraw sanctions or ‘bear the consequences’
“We will not cooperate” … “The ICC is dead to us” John Bolton threatens the International Criminal Court. In a tirade against the court, Mr. Bolton says: The ICC is a threat to “American sovereignty and US national security.” “If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly.” […]
John McCain was a warrior and a patriot. To his last days he supported policies of extended war and a belief in American military strength. The questions he leaves behind, as the nation hears of his funeral and politics, are questions of victory — and of costs. Strategic Demands writes of this as “surviving victory”
President Donald Trump announces via Twitter that he has ordered Mike Pompeo to cancel a planned trip to North Korea because there has not been “sufficient progress” in denuclearization talks so far. The president singles out China for not “helping the process”…
