With a nod to the publishing team at TomDispatch, this week StratDem takes another look at a subject rarely visited as blood and treasure are drawn and a nation’s health and resources are taxed beyond reason. Echoes of a “delicious” chocolate cake and an infamous line delivered at the Mar-a-Lago “club”. We’ve launched an attack […]
Failure to act warning by Sec of State Tillerson: “Failing to act now on the most pressing security issue in the world may bring catastrophic consequences.” In an earlier “Oval Office” Reuters interview, the president is quoted: “There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea”
A war moving toward a 20 year failure …. and centuries bear witness. The war in Afghanistan has a history, a more extended history than most every policy maker, pundit and political commentator has confronted directly or in passing. Roger Morris reminds our readers of a brutal past and of Bagram’s ghosts
“The US is making up its mind to stop the North from conducting further nuclear tests, it doesn’t plan to co-exist with a nuclear-armed Pyongyang,” reports the lead April 12 editorial in the Chinese Global Times
In April 2017, at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, the U.S. President and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down to an exquisite dinner in a regal, golden decor setting. As the two heads of state are eating dessert, the U.S. President suddenly announces to China’s president – “We’ve just launched 59 missiles…”
Update: The Republican party’s healthcare bill is withdrawn for lack of support.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
