Images courtesy of the Royal Society (L) and Zazzle (R). Friday’s Last Word – Pull Pin, Throw Grenade, Run Away: A provocative thought to kick off the weekend… In war, as in the Profession of Arms, two major concepts often collide – the search for truth – and obedience. George Orwell wrote about this indirectly in 1946,…
DetailsImage couresy of Wikimedia Commons. Note: I recently received this prompt from a friend working in the New Zealand government – and thought I’d try my own response. If you’re interested in the subject, consider submitting it to the War Council. Hey Matt, a work related question for you. According to open source reporting the Egyptian…
DetailsImage courtesy of CNN and House of Charity. Friday’s Last Word – Pull Pin, Throw Grenade, Run Away: A provocative thought to kick off the weekend… How much time do we as a society reflect on the damage we inflict on other societies in war? Any at all? Don’t get me wrong, I’m clearly not…
DetailsImage courtesy of BBC News (via Rex Features). **Note: Updated on April 2, 2014. One way of thinking about Nelson Mandela that has been vastly under appreciated is his strategic judgment. This is natural as he’s most famous for bringing together the Rainbow Nation after the fall of an entire way of life. However, he…
DetailsImage courtesy of the New York Times. Emile Simpson wrote in his book – War From the Ground Up – about the psychological aspect to warfare (p. 35): “War is a competition to impose meaning on people, as much emotional as rational, in which one’s enemy is usually the key target audience. Defeat is not a ‘verdict’ handed out…
DetailsImage was part of slide presentation at War Council on March 7, 2014. **NOTE: What follows are remarks from the War Council panel on the “Crisis in Crimea” on March 7, 2014. In 1939, Churchill quipped, “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Winston wouldn’t –…
DetailsThis has been a really busy week – we’re sponsoring a panel on Ukraine tomorrow – which means that I’ll be posting remarks over the weekend. So it’s not all bad: a slow week this week means that there will be fresh analysis and commentary for you this coming week! Security Paradox #1: Environment But…
DetailsImage of 106 year old Armenian woman protecting her home (1990) courtesy of Historical Times. Friday’s Last Word – Pull Pin, Throw Grenade, Run Away: A provocative thought to kick off the weekend… I’m in a bit of a rush to leave Latvia today, but thought I could get one quick idea off before the…
DetailsImage courtesy of Investorstemcell. I’m in Riga, Latvia this week as part of a West Point Department of Military Instruction training team detailed to assist the Latvian National Defence Academy in curriculum development. The team has been here since Sunday, February 23rd, and will depart on Friday, February 28th. As usual with these sorts of things,…
DetailsImage courtesy of Flikr user The U.S. Army. Friday’s Last Word – Pull Pin, Throw Grenade, Run Away: A provocative thought to kick off the weekend… In Iraq and Afghanistan, one commonly heard phrase was to “employ money as a weapon system.” The idea was a simple one in Iraq – if you can get what…
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