The year was 1996 and I was in the process of learning the ropes at my new job at United States Strategic Command, the keeper of the nation’s strategic nuclear triad (submarines, bombers, and land based ballistic missiles). One day I ran into an acquaintance in the hall that I hadn’t seen for a number […]
Victor Davis Hanson is very very worried about Obama’s Israel policy. According to Hanson, Obama’s administration “seems as angry at the building of Jewish settlements in Jerusalem as it is intent on reaching out to Iran and Syria, Israel’s mortal enemies.” This is a huge huge problem, Hanson asserts, with potentially immensely destabilizing results. He […]
As the Washington Post reported last week, a group of 15 people at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces recently determined that the U.S.’s still fragile economy is the biggest threat to U.S. national security. Sensible. The group’s proposed solutions, though, are strange, as they are primarily geared toward “constrain[ing] entitlements growth,” focusing specifically […]
Unsurprisingly, John Bolton doesn’t like the new START. Also unsurprisingly, his arguments against the treaty are severely flawed. He believes countries like Iran and North Korea will perceive the treaty as a signal of U.S. weakness and warns of the resulting dangers: Faced with the Obama mindset, Iran and North Korea are now more likely […]
Charles Krauthammer tears into the Nuclear Security Summit. Max Bergmann tears into Krauthammer. Enjoy.
After taking a close look at the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), my conclusion is it’s neither the dramatic change in strategy hoped for from Obama supporters nor does it represent a significant weakening of U.S. national defense. The only change I saw was for the first time, the U.S. has said it would not use […]
As leaders of 47 countries gather in Washington to discuss how to better secure nuclear materials, not a few observers are noting that what’s not happening may be more interesting and significant than what’s happening–and that’s not to belittle the importance of what’s under formal discussion, by the way. Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled plans to […]
By now we all undoubtedly know that the new START requires the U.S. and Russia to limit their strategically deployed nuclear warheads to 1550 each. Though one wonders… Why 1550? A CNN article from last week begins to answer the question. The article notes that if the number of strategic nukes falls below a certain […]
Last week the NYT ran an editorial by Peter Feaver of Duke University that explains really well what the Obama’s Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) actually says. I completely agree with Feaver that “the changes in terms of doctrine aren’t nearly as epochal as the White House would have us believe or its critics would have […]
Sorry I’ve been silent the last couple of weeks. In Alabama last week taking care of family stuff; returned home this week but have been laid low by Hay Fever. If any of you have any good remedies you can share it would be much appreciated! One day in the late 70’s, I was […]
Want an excuse to lament the sad state of American democracy? Look no further than Dianne Feinstein and Jon Kyle’s bizarre debate about the new START on the PBS Newshour:
I personally would characterize the treaty, like last December’s Copenhagen (climate) Accord, as the bare minimum acceptable.
Victor Davis Hanson last week repeated a now familiar mantra: Obama = Bush. I wrote about this viewpoint before. As far as I can see, regarding national security, there’s nothing controversial about this conclusion. However, Hanson focuses on the liberal hypocrisy aspect of the issue and overstates his case. Obama campaigned on leaving a residual […]
I’ve seen relatively little Western press coverage of Israel’s recent Gaza bombings, so I thought it might be worthwhile to provide some links. It began a couple weeks ago in response to the Ansar al-Sunna rocket attacks. Reports emerged yesterday about Israeli drones dropping leaflets on Gaza warning of further attacks, which have already commenced. […]
Here is an editorial I came across earlier this week about deterrence. Penned by Russ Wellen for Huffintgon Post, the piece surveys some arguments and counterarguments about the effectiveness of deterrence. It is important to think about deterrence in the wake of the START news from last week. Though many have bought the party line […]