Every day brings me new evidence that this is the best era in which to live. The polite Saudi Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman has already transformed Saudi Arabia. It happened almost instantaneously. Why do I call him polite? He clearly is polite, but I’m also quoting writer Robert A. Heinlein….
Performance art wins the war in Syria
April 18, 2016
Nobody will ever be able to write the history of the Syrian civil war. Too much of it is performance art that’s necessary to avoid the mistakes of every single western power that has fought in the Middle East. The performers putting on the show can’t take a bow, which is a shame. They’re absolutely…
Undisclosed versus covert versus clandestine
April 14, 2016
Military operations are classified as open, clandestine, covert, and undisclosed. Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom were open operations. A clandestine operation was Neptune Spear, the killing of Osama bin Laden by US Navy SEALs of DEVGRU. Though secret at the time, we admitted to it when it was over. Covert operations are actions that everyone…
Cataclysm averted…but maybe not for us
April 4, 2016
That which lacks a sense of self-preservation will not survive. The Middle East has avoided a cataclysm, but only because level-headed and skilled leaders worked hard to find solutions. Here in the West, the goal has been to make us stupid and malleable, in the name of expanding the power of government—both liberal and conservative….
Weapon descriptions for Colonel Richard Kemp
March 29, 2016
In answer to a question by Colonel Richard Kemp, this post contains videos of new weapon systems used in the Syrian civil war. My theory is that the Arab League and its Asian, Central Asian, and African allies have created new units called “C6ISR forces,” a term coined by IDF Brigadier General Gal Hirsch (retired)….
Wealth has never made a nation free
March 21, 2016
President Obama has visited Cuba. His trip was a giant waste of time, because there’s no relationship between wealth and freedom. In fact recent history shows that when repressive societies become wealthier, they become less free. This photo is the perfect allegorical comment on President Obama’s visit to Cuba. The doddering, blood-stained dictator Raul Castro…