Another War Lost?
With the usual fanfare, the Obama administration has proclaimed a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan. On the surface, it does not amount to much. But if a story by Bill Gertz in the March 26 Washington Times is correct, there is more to it than meets the eye....
The Magic Potion
In many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, the story line depends on some sort of magic elixir or potion. Similarly, the advocates for a Brave New World tell us the comic opera called "democracy" flows from the magic of elections. Just hold elections, and...
Israel Doesn’t Get 4GW
So far, Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip has produced no surprises. On the physical level of war, the IDF is triumphing. The Palestinians are suffering about one hundred people dead for every dead Israeli. To a 2GW military, which is what Israel's formerly Third...
Intervention: A Problem of Means?
Panglossading through reality, the New York Times recently offered the sort of thoughtless sunny picture of the Obama administration's security policy that lulls children to sleep but leaves adults restlessly wakeful. In a front-page story on December 1, "A...
The Other Election
While the world's eyes are fixed on the American election coming up soon, another election with equal importance for America's future crawled onto the calendar over the past weekend (don't expect a monarchist to think highly of elections). Israeli Foreign Minister...
Al-Qaeda in Iraq:
Another Case of Failed Interventionism?
I have suggested in previous columns that the al-Qaeda model of 4GW may be failing for inherent reasons, i.e., for reasons it cannot fix. "Tom Ricks's Inbox" in the Oct. 19 Washington Post offers some confirmation of that assessment. Ricks writes:...
Pas d’Argent, Pas de Suisse
The old saying, "No money, no Swiss," dates to the early days of the state, but it is no less relevant today than it was 500 years ago. Money is the lifeblood of militaries now just as it was then. In case anyone hasn't noticed, the United States is...
War on Two Fronts, Without Railways
One way to look at the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is to see them as one war with two fronts. Germany fought two-front wars twice in the 20th century, and it was almost able to prevail because it had the advantage of interior lines. The German Army could quickly...
Why Obama Is Wrong
A few weeks ago I wrote a column explaining why Senator John McCain is wrong on Iraq. In contrast, Senator Barack Obama is largely right on Iraq. Whether he would follow through on his plan for withdrawing U.S. troops is another question. The Democratic foreign policy...