Thomas Knapp

An October/November survey covering the midsection (adults between 18 and 29) of the “millennial” demographic finds that after the November terror attacks in France (but before the December 2 attack in San Bernardino), that demographic’s support for deployment of US ground troops against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria jumped from 47% to 60%. … Continue reading “Millennials: Let’s You and Them Fight”

On December 2, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik burst into a meeting at San Bernardino, California’s Inland Regional Center and opened fire, killing 14 and wounding many more. The two were later killed in a shoot-out with the police. In the wake of this horrific attack, media reports are emerging that the couple’s neighbors … Continue reading “An American Guilt Trip: This Is How the Terrorists Win”

Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty states that an “armed attack” on a NATO member “shall be considered an attack against them all” and that all parties to the treaty must join in to “restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.” Left unspecified is what happens when a NATO member itself … Continue reading “NATO: This Deal Is a Turkey”

On October 22, US Army Master Sergeant Joshua L. Wheeler died near Hawija, in northern Iraq, while taking part in a mission aimed at rescuing prisoners from Islamic State forces. Wheeler is the first American soldier – or at least the first one we’ve been told about – to die in combat in Iraq since … Continue reading “US Military Adventurism: The Definition of Insanity”

The Associated Press reports that “British police have removed the officers standing watch over Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, but say they will still do their best to arrest the WikiLeaks founder who has been holed up there since June 2012.” Arrest? Really? Assange has already spent the last three years and … Continue reading “Five Years Is Five Years Too Long: Free Julian Assange!”

Remember the good old days? The US and the Soviet Union constantly staring each other down? Mutual Assured Destruction? Perpetual brushfire and proxy wars punctuated by deadly and disastrous conflicts like Korea and Vietnam? They’re baaaaaaack … America’s War Party (a faction that sprawls across Democratic and Republican affiliation lines) has been looking for something … Continue reading “War Party’s New Line: Vladimir Putin Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”

On August 6, 1945, the United States of America became the first – and, to this day, the only – nation to use atomic or nuclear weapons in actual hostilities (as opposed to testing). The unconditional surrender of Japan quickly followed, bringing an end to World War II. For 70 years now, the anniversaries of … Continue reading “August 1945: Let’s Talk About Terrorism”

Freshman Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) wants the United States to pick a fight with Iran. Not an all-out brawl, he says; just an itty-bitty bout along the lines of 1998’s Operation Desert Fox, in which US aircraft carried out four days of airstrikes on Iraq. Setting aside the fact that there’s just no reason for … Continue reading “Hubris Unlimited: Tom Cotton versus Reality”

US vice-president Joe Biden put American exceptionalism on display in a big way Saturday (February 7), laying down a tough line of patter to the 2015 Munich Security Conference. Biden called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to “get out of Ukraine,” doubling down on US threats to escalate conflict in the Russia-Ukraine border region by … Continue reading “Joe Biden’s Dangerous Game”

In late January, the US military-industrial complex reported results for 2014’s fourth quarter and expectations for 2015. Good times! Northrop Grumman knocked down nearly $6 billion in Q4 2014 and expects 2015 sales of around $23.5 billion. Raytheon did about as well last fall and expects a big radar order from the Air Force this … Continue reading “The Best Defense (for the Welfare State) Is an Expensive Offense”