In The News

Defense One – The US Is Drifting Toward War With a NATO Ally – 14 February 2018

http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/02/us-drifting-toward-war-nato-ally/145979/ Putin’s unchecked courtship of Erdoğan increases the risks associated with any military response to Assad’s war crimes, continued Turkish aggression, or Iranian entrenchment in Syria. The U.S. and NATO should take Turkey to task for any actions that are detrimental to NATO’s mutual defense goals.  Concurrently, Turkey must be…


War on the Rocks – Assorted Articles – 15 January 2018

War on the Rocks:  A platform for analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens. 1/15 Daily Update An Unconventional Proposal to Bringing the OA-X To Life by William Miller The False Dawn of International Law: Revisiting the Doomed Kellogg-Briand Pact by Seva…



The Diplomat – China’s Maritime Operation: The ‘Gray Zone’ in Black and White – 18 May 2017

Image Credit: China Defense Blog http://thediplomat.com/2017/05/chinas-maritime-operation-the-gray-zone-in-black-and-white/ There is no problem in the “gray zone” because the “gray zone” does not exist. By Ben Lowsen May 18, 2017 “Much has been made lately of China’s maritime operations in the “gray zone,” referring to operations achieving military objectives like island seizure while…


Just Security – What Do Top Legal Experts Say About the Syria Strikes? – 7 April 2017

https://www.justsecurity.org/39712/top-legal-experts-syria-strikes/ “[Just Security] asked several of the very top legal minds about their views concerning Thursday night’s airstrikes by the United States in response to the Syrian government’s reported use of chemical weapons.  [They] have provided their verbatim responses … and will be adding more.” and for a brief video (albeit…


Defense Support to Civil Authorities in Wake of Unrest in Charlotte, NC – 22 September 2016

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory deployed the state National Guard and highway patrol to Charlotte after violent protests raged for a second night over the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott http://wlos.com/news/local/national-guard-provides-reinforcements-for-local-law-enforcement-in-charlotte http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/us/charlotte-protests/index.html?sr=fbCNN092216charlotte-protests1106AMVODtopVideo&linkId=29072263 http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2689907   And see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/25/opinion/sunday/where-to-go-from-the-anger-in-charlotte.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share And for the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, see: http://www.iacp.org/TaskForceReport…


MWI – U.S. Cybersecurity Gets a New Cyber Warrior General – 20 September 2016

U.S. Cybersecurity Gets a New Cyber Warrior General. MWI Contributor Robert Potter argues a turn for the positive in U.S. cybersecuirty with the recent appointment of Brigadier General (retired) Gregory J. Touhil as the first ever U.S. Federal Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). http://mwi.usma.edu/u-s-cybersecurity-gets-a-new-cyber-warrior-general/ and see also: http://militarylegitimacyreview.com/?s=Cyber and please…


NYT – Air Force, Running Low on Drone Pilots, Turns to Contractors in Terror Fight – 5 September 2016

Ihttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/us/air-force-drones-terrorism-isis.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share “The Pentagon is increasingly relying on private contractors to operate drones for reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.” See also: Govern, Kevin H. and Schlager, Scott A, ‘Guns for Hire, Death on Demand’: The Permissibility of U.S. Outsourcing of Drone Attacks to Civilian Surrogates of the Armed Forces and…


Simons Center Interagency Journal – “Out of Sync” – U.S. Africa Command and Recent Interagency Challenges – Summer 2016

http://thesimonscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IAJ-7-2-Summer2016-34-43.pdf The most recent edition of the Simons Center Interagency Journal examines US Africa Command’s innovative interagency structure. It highlights some recent challenges, particularly between DoD and State coordination in regional policy and security cooperation. The authors conclude that despite these challenges AFRICOM is equipped to counter these challenges by…


Louisiana National Guard Continues Flood Response Missions

http://www.defense.gov/News/Article/Article/918383/louisiana-national-guard-continues-flood-response-missions Photo:  Louisiana National Guardsmen convoy to a boat launch to conduct search-and-rescue missions near Maurepas, La., Aug. 17, 2016. The Louisiana National Guard has been conducting flood response and recovery missions, as directed by Gov. John Bel Edwards, since Aug. 12. Louisiana Army National Guard photo by 1st Sgt….