Update: The Republican party’s healthcare bill is withdrawn for lack of support. The question in the Capitol chamber should be one of priorities, a classic question, a “guns or butter” question. Trillions in added appropriations for war, or a move to investment in the nation. The nation’s future is at question. What delivers real security…
The “button” can morph into a perverse temptation for an unstable leader. In 1974, during his impeachment proceedings, President Richard M. Nixon said to reporters: “I can go into my office and pick up the telephone, and in 25 minutes, 70 million people will be dead.”
Another day and another reveal as intel agencies ply their trade and cybersleuths attempt to watch the deep state at work. The “tradecraft” is always on the move and the old ways are constantly being upgraded. Take it for granted that this Wiki intel release is already behind the curve
“Sleepwalking Into a Nuclear Arms Race with Russia” Chuck Spinney and Pierre Sprey write for Moyers’ online (and Spinney’s Blaster blog) with a warning about a new nuclear arms race, one where ‘the nuclear issue boils down to a question of understanding how America’s spending decisions and actions impact patriotic Russians’
Your Strategic Demands editor is looking back this week. The first human vision of the whole Earth, from Apollo 8, in many ways, changed how we see ourselves and our perception of our roles and responsibilities. Now, as the US shifts toward old ways of business and politics, we look forward again toward new vistas
This week we revisit the paradigm StratDem proposes as an essential element of national security thinking — the necessity of a broader, deeper understanding of security and the integral connection between national security and global security. Our responsibility is to go beyond the conventional
A new Cold War is a legacy of the Obama administration … a trillion-dollar nuclear weapons modernization is underway. The new president is inheriting new nukes and an apocalyptic array of nuclear delivery systems. From cruise missiles, tactical and strategic, to hypersonic nuclear warheads bouncing off the atmosphere, U.S. nuclear proliferation is ominous reality
Today, in a series of messages, the subject of an Iranian-US flashpoint in the Persian Gulf was discussed. The War Powers Act came up, as did the preemptive legacy of the “Bush Doctrine”. The threat of provocation and rapid escalation was the take away. What wasn’t discussed is the effect on soldiers, warriors…
Thirty seconds closer to midnight… The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has taken the unprecedented step of moving the Doomsday Clock ahead 30 seconds, taking the world to 2½ minutes to midnight
The office of President of the United States has a new occupant today as the 45th President takes his oath and pledges to uphold the US Constitution. After today, the US, its citizens, and the world as influenced by US economic and military reach and power, prepare for a unique ride into the history books […]
What better time for reflection than an interregnum? Until we return, StratDem suggests visiting TomDispatch Especially Andrew Bacevich @TomDispatch … Time to consider again the global reach of American force
As the new administration continues to form its upper echelon of appointees, it’s an appropriate time to recall a core mission in foreign and domestic policy — security as a highest goal. In this pursuit of ‘national security’, it is time to remember how security must be pursued in the 21st century
As president-elect Donald Trump draws together his transition team at Trump Tower, the upcoming first elements of a Trump administration begin to come into view. Let’s take a quick look at what the “American Conservative” has chosen to highlight at the end of week one
It’s official. Donald J. Trump will be the 45th president of the United States, elected November 8, 2016, taking office January 20, 2017
Via RT — Russia has unveiled the first image of its new thermonuclear missile system, RS-28 Sarmat, nicknamed “Satan-2” by NATO. The MIRV’d Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, designed to be fitted with hypersonic warheads, are expected to go into production as early as 2018. Tags: Calculus of War; Cold War 2.0; Nuclear Proliferation; Hypersonic Arms Race
October 27, 2016 — The United Nations today adopted a landmark resolution to launch negotiations in 2017 on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. This historic decision heralds an end to two decades of paralysis in multilateral nuclear disarmament efforts.
This week we take another look at the anti-nuclear weapon movement from the perspective of America magazine, the Catholic journal that has special relevance as the first Jesuit pontiff of Catholics is moving the Church’s formal position on nuclear weapons actively toward ‘abolition’ and a legal, international ban on nuclear weapons
