Evidence suggests that a Russian intelligence group was the source of the most recent Wikileaks intel dump, which was aimed to influence the U.S. election. Close your eyes and imagine that a hacking group backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin broke into the email system of a major U.S. political party. The group stole thousands…
Category: Statecraft
Guerilla Warfare History: The World of Coup’s Since 1950
An attempted coup in Turkey last week shocked and surprised many across the world. But coups and attempted coups have long been an all-too-familiar occurrence around the world. How many exactly? Well, at the time of writing, there have been around 475 coup attempts since 1950. That’s according to a dataset compiled by Jonathan Powell and Clayton Thyne, two assistant…
Espionage Files: The Logic for (Shoddy) U.S. Covert Action In Syria
By most accounts, America’s efforts to covertly train and supply moderate rebels in Syria aren’t going so well. Apart from the obvious (Assad is still firmly entrenched in power and continuing to receive ever-growing external support),The New York Times recently reported that some arms provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi Arabia haven’t…
Statecraft: Predicting Global Crisis and Instability with Political Science
If the CIA had a crystal ball, then they would probably not be routinely blindsided by world events. Lacking such a device, the agency has endured notable analytical failures. During the early 1990s, sudden collapses of Somalia, Zaire, Rwanda and the Soviet Union seemingly appeared without warning. Strategic surprises have always been a problem for…
Seceding From Socialism
In his great classic, Socialism, Ludwig von Mises observed that socialists always employed the dual strategy of 1) nationalizing as much industry and property as possible; and 2) “destructionism,” defined as “destroying the social order which is based on private ownership.” Destructionism can be achieved through the welfare state, progressive taxation, onerous taxation, and regulation…
Israel Watch: 13-Year Old Girl Who Was Murdered By Palestinian Terrorist Was American Citizen
This puts the obamaoids in an odd, but very typical predicament. As they unabashedly SUPPORT The Palestinian Authority, and by Proxy Hamas, they have in fact also helped support and finance the Murder Of an American Citizen by terrorist. Wonderful. -SF Hallel-Yaffa Ariel, a 13-year-old girl in Israel who wanted to be a dancer, was…
Military News: 10 Wars That Could Break Out In The Next Four Years
The incoming Commander-in-Chief already has a handful of issues waiting for him or her on January 20th and surely doesn’t need any more foreign policy headaches. Unfortunately, the job is “Leader of the Free World” and not “Autopilot of the Worldwide Ramones/P-Funk Block Party.” Inevitably, things go awry. Reactions have unintended consequences. If you don’t…
Dose of Truth: The United States Has No War Strategy
It is About time Somebody laid it Out Plain with no Bullshit, and no better person to do it than Retired Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich. His latest book, Americas War For The Greater Middle East: A Military History is a must read. -SF A multi-trillion-dollar bridge to nowhere in the Greater Middle East By Andrew…
Future Warfare: 21st Century DIY Insurgency
It started innocuously enough. The prime minister-for-life never missed the annual “Liberation Day” parade. With the drums and platoons thundering, nobody noticed as the quadcopter, barely larger than a sparrow, floated down toward the dais, its faint whirr drowned out by the industrial machinery rolling by in formation. It was at once a child’s birthday…
Going to War Without Skin In The Game
It is interesting to note how many pro-intervention, pro- “boots on the ground” neoconservatives have never served in the military. I’m grateful that America treats its veterans better now than it did in decades past. My father was spit on by hippies when he came home from Vietnam. Yet, “thank you for your service” comments…