John Glaser has written an interesting commentary on War on the Rocks under the title “Truth, Power, and the Academy: A response to Hal Brands”. It is about the relationship between academic expertise and the political establishment in the United States. Last fall, Hal Brands wrote an article in The American Interest in which he […]
USA
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Podcast recommendation: WOTR – A big debate about a little nuke
There is a great discussion about Russia and nuclear weapons in this episode of the War on the Rocks podcast. The panel is terrific. Olga Oliker is brilliant, Frank Miller is wrong about most things concerning Russia but argues his case very well, and Vipin Narang has deep technical insights. Ryan and Usha do a […]
Predator retired
Joe Chapa in War on the Rocks: Today, the U.S. Air Force “sunsets” the Predator, permanently retiring it from service. Though individual squadrons have been transitioning from the Predator to the Reaper for some time, that transition is now complete. This provides a good opportunity to look back at the Predator to learn what we […]
Comparison between U.S. and U.K. naval officer training
There is an interesting comparison of U.S. Navy and Royal Navy Officer Training in the March edition of Proceedings. Dr. Anthony Wells has experience from both navies and insights into their training programs. In short, Wells is not impressed by the U.S. seamanship education. He suggests the U.S. Navy can learn a lot from their […]
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review misses the point on Russia
The Pentagon published its Nuclear Posture Review for 2018 (NPR) earlier in February. It dramatically changes some assumptions about nuclear weapons that were laid out in the previous NPR from 2010. The new NPR concludes that there has been a deterioration in international relations with a return to great power competition and a more complex […]
U.S. military budget for 2018 blows the boundaries of reason
US military spending is an interesting topic. On the one hand there is a widespread conception among military personnel that the military is suffering under severe budget constraints. On the other hand the actual spending on the military is very high — and much higher than during the Cold War. Now the 2018 budget is […]
Russia’s foreign policy toward USA is not schizophrenic
Professor Kimberly Marten tries to explain an apparently schizophrenic Russian foreign policy toward the United States in this policy memo on PONARS Eurasia. She comes up with four possible explanations: Putin succumbed to his own ignorance and biases. Putin’s advisors are afraid to tell him the truth. Inconsistent foreign policy is the result of infighting […]
Homicide charges for US warship collisions are a big mistake
Four officers from USS Fitzgerald and one from USS John S. McCain including both commanding officers will face criminal charges for negligent homicide. As Navy Times notes, this is a very rare step, and now the internet is boiling over with discussions about it. I think the criminal charges are a big mistake.
More dire predictions following US sale of Javelin missiles to Ukraine
Michael Kimmage for War on the Rocks in connection with the American decision to provide anti-tank missiles to Ukraine: Both sides interpret their own actions as defensive. The greater the need to defend from the other’s aggression, the more an expansion of military assets makes sense — hence, the provision of “defensive lethal weapons.” Hence, […]
Proxy wars seem to be a thing again
Sébastien Roblin for War on the Rocks in connection with the American decision to provide Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine: Michael Kofman, an analyst with extensive knowledge of Russian military affairs, was skeptical that a “few missiles” would be of any serious military benefit in a New York Times column in August. He wrote that […]