Will the Koreas trump Trump? on April 9, 2018President Donald Trump has been given huge amounts of advice regarding the pending meeting with North Korea’s Dear Leader, Kim Jung Un, possibly in May. The only real advice the president should heed is preparation and even more preparation. He can rest assured that Little Rocket Man will not only be ready. He will have […]
The need for cheaper defense on April 7, 2018The Pentagon unveiled its latest National Defense Strategy (NDS) in January. The NDS very much was the product of the experience and thinking of Secretary of Defense and former Marine General Jim Mattis. Mr. Mattis has a unique understanding of both the practice and study of war including multiple combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq […]
The Trump House on March 28, 2018Every day, the White House turns astonishment into understatement. And the next move by President Donald Trump often defies any possible rational explanation. Last week proved this point, although no one should be surprised by what next week may bring. President Trump declared a trade war on America’s trading partners; bureaucratic war on his most […]
Austin bombings — a precursor? on March 22, 2018The package bombs exploding in Austin, Texas were not new forms of terror. But they are a warning as old as Vladimir Lenin. Lenin understood that contradictions in politics and life were crucial to creating exploitive policies to seize power, increase influence or promote dissension. A most critical contradiction for democracies is one between security […]
To protect and defend on March 2, 2018The presidential oath of office requires each chief executive to swear or to affirm that I will ‘to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ Since taking this oath over four hundred days ago, no president has been confronted with so many calls for impeachment as has […]
Time to assess the second amendment on February 25, 2018Re-assess the Second Amendment? Most people would reject the notion at face value. Others would be more critical. After all, only one amendment, the 18th that prohibited the sale and use of alcoholic beverages, was ever repealed. And most Americans believe that the right to bear and carry arms is sacrosanct. Yet, beyond the terrible […]
Make America ‘grate’ on February 13, 2018A good friend made a brilliant contribution in understanding and understating the current condition of American politics. Altering President Donald Trump’s signature campaign slogan by rearranging two letters to read ‘Make America GRATE Again’ captures the national mood. And ‘grating’ is perhaps optimistic. At the thirteenth hour after government briefly shut down, Congress voted to […]
The nuclear posture review: a product of 20th century on February 8, 2018The price tag for these programs is at least $1.5 trillion. However, given the past history of cost growth, the bill could reach as high as $3 trillion. And with the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in jeopardy of being abrogated as well as New Start, clearly the number of nuclear weapons could increase. The […]
Mueller vs Trump: where will it end? on February 1, 2018Regardless of whether or not Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Team Trump’s involvement with Russia is winding down, only three outcomes are possible. First, despite the indictment of former campaign manager Paul Manafort and the guilty plea of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Mr Mueller could find no evidence of wrongdoing or culpability […]
30 seconds over Pearl Harbor on January 29, 2018Two weeks ago air raid sirens blared their warnings throughout Pearl Harbor and the Hawaiian Islands. The last time this had happened was on December 7, 1941. That was when Japanese Kamikaze pilots wreaked havoc on a row of battleships and other military facilities on Pearl Harbour — the attack which pulled the US into […]