The first three chapters in Sun Tzu’s timeless classic “The Art of War” describe how to make net assessments by comparing your strengths and weaknesses and those of your adversary and how to formulate strategy. Near the end of Chapter 3, he sums up his advice, saying, “Know your enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles, you will …
Military History
Should Fake Boasts About Battlefield Valor Be Criminal?
This coming Wednesday is George Washington’s 280th birthday. So it’s only fitting that the Supreme Court will be asking on Feb. 22 if lying about military heroics violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech.
This …
Winter in Afghanistan
Those of us enjoying a rather balmy winter in the U.S. should know that Afghanistan – a wretchedly poor country to begin with – is suffering through a brutal winter:
The mud-walled hut in which four-month-old Khair …
War Dog Stamp!
Even folks who don’t care for military matters love war dogs. So the U.S. Postal Service has just issued a set of four working-dog stamps, including a yellow Lab war dog (the other three are a black Labrador retriever guide dog, a Welsh springer spaniel therapy dog, and a German shepherd rescue dog). The 65-cent stamps, good for …
F-16s, A-to…V?
The F-16A first flew in 1975, followed by the F-16B (Battleland once sat in a B-model backseat for a stomach-tickling ride), F-16C. F-16D, F-16E, F-16F, F-16I, F-16IN, F-16N, F-16Q, and now: the F-16V. Manufacturer Lockheed …
The U.S. and the Philippines, a Century Ago: Dashed Dreams of Empire
A long time ago, and far away, the U.S. invaded and occupied the Philippines. There are parallels to recent U.S. military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, down to torturing the enemy.
Journalist Gregg Jones has written Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of America’s Imperial …
IG Probe into F-22 Crash Seems Fairly Unroutine
Last week the Pentagon inspector general confirmed that its investigators are looking into the November 2010 fatal crash of an F-22 fighter. Pilots have long grumbled that the super-jet’s oxygen-supply system doesn’t always …
Inside Saddam Hussein and his Ba’th Party
Baghdad-born Joseph Sassoon has peeked into the heart and soul of the late Saddam Hussein and his Ba’th party, thanks to the millions of documents, audiotapes and other regime remnants the U.S. military collected inside their homeland following the 2003 U.S. invasion.
In Saddam Hussein’s Ba’th Party: Inside an Authoritarian …
Meritorious…or Mawkish?
Talk is Cheap in Washington When It Comes to Politicians and the U.S. Military
Last night, President Obama opened his State of the Union address by referencing the sacrifices and courage of America’s military personnel as they return home from combat. The President’s rhetoric was moving, but unfortunately, words are simply words and have not been fully backed up with action that supports America’s heroes.
The Junior Officers’ Book Club
This is the second time in six months I’ve written about military reading lists. In August, we looked at the books then Army Chief of Staff, now Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Martin Dempsey asked his soldiers and officers …
The Shah’s Ghost…
Those of you paying attention to international affairs a generation ago recall that Jimmy Carter’s decision to let the shah of Iran come to the U.S. for medical care created an anti-American firestorm back home in Iran. Has …
Better Late Than Never: The Afghan War Handbook
After a decade of war in Afghanistan, there’s a new guidebook out on just who we’re fighting. It’s The Afghan Way of War by Robert Johnson, Oxford historian. It is his subtitle – How and Why They Fight – that should be required reading for the leaders of both the U.S. and U.K., as well as the grunts on Afghan soil. …