In 1988 McGeorge Bundy, President Kennedy’s National Security Advisor, commented there was just a 1-in-100 chance the Cuban Missile Crisis would have escalated to a nuclear war. But, probabilities and odds and chance are interesting things. Most people use the terms without thinking about what they are really saying. Consider: what’s the probability Ted Williams […]

The island covers just 61 square miles, it’s currently home to about 5,200 people, it lies about 90 miles or so south-east of Athens, and about 90 miles north of Crete. Except for the fact that it’s one of the many gorgeous Greek islands “floating” in the Aegean Sea, it would be forgotten by history, […]

Here’s a simple question: If you were hiring someone to provide dental care, would you insist applicants be dentists? It seems reasonable to me, but not, apparently, to some people at Walter Reed National Medical Center. Though, the issue isn’t dentists – perhaps that’s next, but about pastoral care, specifically Catholic pastoral care. A long […]

The folks in Washington tell us that the US must not let Russia win in Ukraine, that this is about sustaining and defending a rules-based international order, and that if we don’t stop Russia now, Russia will only want more. And other countries would be convinced that since Russia got away with it, they could […]

Author’s Note: I was looking at pictures of shattered buildings in Bakhmut, then I ran out to get groceries and this just popped into my head… Arrias ******* Time for Bakhmut to Burn For days, for weeks, for months, The siege guns have pounded away, A city shattered, houses now but rubble, The guns fire […]

“Zero Dark Thirty” or “The Pentagon Wars”? Movies about the US military generally fall into just two categories: one is loaded with superheroes and amazing technology, the other packed with corrupt generals, politicians and defense contractors. Unfortunately, both have elements of truth in them. How is it that the same national security community that produces […]

There was a young lady of Niger Who smiled as she rode on a tiger; They returned from the ride With the lady inside, And the smile on the face of the tiger. – W.C. Monkhouse Sometimes it helps to look at things backwards…What should the US government recommend to Ukraine if they were losing […]

On July 3rd, 1950, 8 days after North Korea – with Russian and Chinese assistance (and prodding) – attacked into South Korea, Secretary of State Acheson advised the President to act on his authority as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces to respond to the attack, and not ask Congress for approval or a resolution or […]

 I was reading several old interviews of Admiral Stockdale this afternoon, in which he commented about the Tonkin Gulf incident and how Washington – the Johnson White House – was determined to get the “facts” they needed to justify the actions they wanted to take. Stockdale was a man of the highest principals; it led […]

When it comes to lessons learned, everyone seems to focus on the battlefield tactics and the application of current technology. While that is very interesting, there are some other points we can already pull from this war… First, nuclear weapons are the holy grail of strategic planning. I read an article the other day by […]