Is an official end to Authorization for Use of Military Force in sight? It is over 20 years since the beginning of AUMF-enabled war in Afghanistan… which begat the Iraq war, which begat two decades of US war in MidEast / CentralAsia / North Africa and beyond. Today, Congress may begin a new direction
Category: National Security Issues
U.S. National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review
Look carefully as the U.S. is declaring what, when, why, where and how the use of Nuclear Weapons is authorized to take place in the new National Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture. More than anything else focus on how many uses of nukes are authorized as a ‘first use’ of nukes is approved
China announces countermeasures
The visit to Taiwan of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has produced an extensive reaction by the Communist Party of China (CPC/CCP/PRC). Announced “countermeasures” in the Global Times include cancellations, suspensions, strong signals, a public pivot toward confrontation and escalation
The International Space Station Minus Russia
In a move that can be seen as symbolic, as well as adversarial, the Russian Federation announces Roscosmos, its space agency, will be ending its participation in the ISS cooperative space venture. Sometime after 2024, the new Russian space agency director says, will be — ‘the end’
U.S. Department of Defense – Report on China
Two citizens of the United States respond to the latest U.S. Department of Defense Report to Congress on the “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China”. The editor of Strategic Demands focuses in on a predictable result of U.S. nuclear weapons ‘modernization’ and expansion of capabilities…
Earth System Observatory
The original mission statement of NASA prominently focused on Earth Science. A first generation of visionary scientists and government leaders set in motion missions to study, measure and monitor Earth’s life systems. Now, fifty+ years on, with decades of data and ‘vital signs’ to guide policy decisions, it’s time for a leap of knowledge
Last Days at the White House
Every day comes news and new revelations of presidential planning that may or may not be true. Presidential claims of ‘fraud’ and a ‘stolen election’ escalate. Today the Washington Post reported the tracking database of ‘false and misleading claims’ of the U.S. president has reached 25,653. Now comes the hack…
The Crisis, Climate Security and US Election
“The Climate Crisis Is Still a Crisis”. November 3rd, a turning point election. With former VP Joe Biden currently leading in the polls and Democratic control of the Senate possible, the US may soon have the chance, for the first time in more than a decade, to enact urgently needed legislation to address global climate […]
U.S. China ‘Spats’ Rattle the World
(Associated Press – July 28, 2020) — Antagonisms between the United States and China are rattling governments around the world, prompting a German official to warn of “Cold War 2.0”
The Threat the US President Denies is Real
It is the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’ or, to put it in other terms, it is the ‘dinosaur in the room’, the oil and gas, the security threat in the Middle East oil region, and the ‘no see ums’, an accumulating fossil fuels debt that is coming due for our generation and coming generations
25th International Climate Conference
COP25 has commenced in Madrid… Conference of the Parties, #COP25… the acronym doesn’t do the global Climate Crisis Conference justice as its goal is security of all nations. The multiplying threats of human-caused disruption and disaster are here. Strategic Demands and associate GreenPolicy360 again deliver the news
Perspective by Arkin
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
Strategic Demands: Looking Back at 2018
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. […]
Black Friday, U.S. Climate Study Released
Doomsday Machine
Updated: January 1, 2018 The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. A look back at Dan Ellsberg… 1969 / 70 / 71 in Los Angeles… memories of Rand and the McNamara “history project”… Vietnam’s reality he shared with your editor as he prepared to reveal it to a nation at war. Now, again, […]
“Commander-in-Chief Forum”
NBC’s nationally broadcast ‘Event TV’ was headlines as a “Commander-in-Chief Forum”. The nation watched (15 million or so) and the collective judgment the day of the event was — a disaster. The consensus was the forum failed on all fronts. What was the worst moment?
Nuclear Brink / End of Times
Last week we wrote of President Obama and his National Security counsel as they prepared to leave office and leave behind the power of the White House to shape security policy. This week we continue on the theme of the president’s legacy and strategic nuclear risks by again considering My Journey at the Nuclear Brink […]