Category Archives: Foreign Policy

Armed Forces Day 2012: The Disconnection of the Military and Society and the Terrible Result

Armed Forces Day was celebrated in some locales Saturday but I would dare say that the vast majority of Americans didn’t notice it. Meanwhile under 50 “Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans” from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Against the War got lots … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, iraq,afghanistan, News and current events, Politics

Missile Impotence: Kim Jong Un’s Rocket Launch goes Splat

Don’t call it a failure to launch but a failure to fly. Tonight the rocket shot to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Most Beloved High Great Celestial Leader Kim Il Sung broke apart and crashed about … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, Korean Conflicts, Military, national security, News and current events

Failing to Learn from History: The Lesson of the First Anglo-Afghan War and Questions about the US-NATO Campaign

“The Americans in Afghanistan are Demons. They claim they burned Korans by mistake, but really those were “Satanic acts that will never be forgiven by apologies.” Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai It seems that we in the West seldom learn from … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under counterinsurency in afghanistan, Foreign Policy, iraq,afghanistan, Military, national security, News and current events

Unforced Errors: The Bane of the American-NATO Campaign in Afghanistan

The Scene at one of the Houses (Reuters: Ahmad Nadeem)  The efforts of the United States in Afghanistan and chances of coming out with anything resembling a successful conclusion to the longest war in its history are being destroyed by … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, iraq,afghanistan, Military, national security

The Question is When, Where and How?…not If…. The Inevitability of War with Iran

“War is the unfolding of miscalculations.”  Barbara W. Tuchman I do not think that there is a sane person in the world that sees any benefit of a war between the United States, Israel and the West and Iran.  But … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, middle east, national security, News and current events

Padre Steve Reviews “The Wounded Giant: America’s Armed Forces in an Age of Austerity” by Michael O’Hanlon

The Wounded Giant: America’s Armed Forces in an Age of Austerity (An eSpecial from The Penguin Press) • Format: Kindle Edition • File Size: 1685 KB • Publisher: The Penguin Press (November 15, 2011) I was recently asked to do … Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under books and literature, Foreign Policy, Loose thoughts and musings, Military, national security

Tension in the Gulf: Don’t Miscalculate; Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick

“War is the unfolding of miscalculations.” Barbara Tuchman Iran’s navy chief Habibollah Sayyari briefs media on the naval exercise  The greatest danger in the current war of words between Iran and the United States is the danger that the Iranians … Continue reading

Leave a Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, middle east, national security, US Navy

A Weekend of Surprises and Not : Packers Lose, Colts Win and Kim Jong-Il Dies; Tebow finally Loses and Padre Steve keeps on Trucking…

Packed away Wow what a Sunday…. The Green Bay Packers who had not lost a game for a year lost to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs who had just fired their Head Coach on Monday.  It is actually fascinating because … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under football, Foreign Policy, History

The War that No One wants to Fight: Pakistan 2011

Supply Lines in Peril This weekend there was an altercation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in which somewhere between 24 and 28 Pakistani soldiers were killed during a NATO airstrike.  Afghan military and regional government officials are saying that Afghan soldiers … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under Foreign Policy, History, iraq,afghanistan, Military, Politics

November 1918: The Month that Changed the World

November 1918 In November 1918 a world was ending and a new one beginning.  The Great War which had begun in August 1914 following the assassination of the heir apparent to the Throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire wife on June … Continue reading

1 Comment

Filed under economics and financial policy, Foreign Policy, History, national security