Contrary to popular belief, Mercenaries are the “Silent Majority” in Obama’s Military, and the president’s “light footprint” approach to war has relied on thousands of Americans paid to fight — and die — in the shadows. Last weekend, the New York Times published one of what will be many takes on President Barack Obama’s legacy…
Category: Statecraft
Future Warfare: Three Articles You Need to Read on Russia and China
I have felt a strong need as of late to stay abreast of all developments regarding Russia and China. I would urge all my readers to not be distracted by all the Political theater and “filler” the state run media seems intent on running on continuous loop as of late. It is mindless garbage fit…
Book Review: Playing to the Edge, American Intelligence in the Age of Terror
by Michael V. Hayden Penguin, 448 pp When Michael Hayden was a young air force officer in the 1980s, the military stationed him as an intelligence attaché in Bulgaria. There, the man who would rise to the top of the American intelligence community in the post–September 11 era lived under constant surveillance: he and his…
Hair Triggers The World Over…
I was taught a long time ago that when the DISTRACTIONS in your Environment are the LOUDEST, that is the time you need to be the MOST AWARE. Put Aside the REALITY TV SHOW THAT IS AMERICAN POLITICS FOR A SECOND AND CONSIDER: How many times can Three Super Powers REPEATEDLY “BRUSH” UP AGAINST ONE…
Modern Crime: “PutinFellas”
Putin’s Kleptocracy and the Russian Nationalized Mafia As deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s, Vladimir Putin spent a lot of time with gangsters. He collaborated with the infamous Tambov and Malyshev organized crime groups to gain control of St. Petersburg’s gambling industry. He used his office to help launder mafia money and to…
Espionage Files: Russian Spies Put Full-Court Press on Sweden
The Swedish state security police, or SAPO, is getting pretty worried about a dramatic uptick in Russian espionage activity in Sweden, according to leaks in the Swedish press. And SAPO is hinting that it’s related to the fact that Sweden is gearing up for a May 25 parliamentary debate about ratifying a “Host Nation Support…
Iran Watch: Iran’s Shadow War in Africa
The Islamic Republic plants spies and weapons across the continent in a bid to outmaneuver the West The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Sirocco closed in on a small boat in the Arabian Sea. After boarding, the American warship’s sailors discovered hundreds of Kalashnikov assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. The source — Iran. The destination — Houthi rebels in…
Cold War Files: Cold War Boardgame ‘Twilight Struggle’ Now Available Online
The Best Board Game Ever Is a Chilling Re-imagining of the Cold War ‘Twilight Struggle’ is finally available online Of all the modern board games that constitute the current golden age of tabletop gaming — your Settlers of Catans, your Ticket to Rides, your Pandemics — one looms larger than all the others, like a mythical icon made of…
Espionage Files: Pakistani Intelligence Possibly Financed 2009 CIA Outpost Bombing
Pakistan’s powerful spy agency may have provided the funding for a deadly 2009 suicide attack on a CIA base in Afghanistan that ranks as one of the deadliest days in the agency’s history, according to a newly declassified State Department cable. The heavily redacted cable, sent about two weeks after the attack on Dec. 30,…