...international system. Satellites allow U.S. forces to communicate, navigate, gather intelligence, and use precision-guided weapons and space-enabled communication has become engrained in the operations of every branch of the military. If those satellites were jammed electronically or destroyed outright by a hostile power, the United States would be militarily crippled. It is perhaps impossible to overstate how vital these areas are to questions...
photo from Wikimedia Commons It was March 2011 and the Egyptian military had assumed executive power in what was dubbed a democratic transition. As I stood next to a military tank, I saw slogans such as “the people and the army are one hand” and believed that military rule was the best alternative to Mubarak. The tanks indicated the military’s role as protector during the transition to democracy, but the military’s actions since have amounted t...
...itory,’ we may well be invading his cyberspace … Forget about ‘exit strategies’; we’re looking at a sustained engagement that carries no deadlines … ‘Battles’ will be fought by customs officers.” Suddenly, it seemed sustained military engagement and expanded state surveillance were as new to America as cyberspace (forget Vietnam and J. Edgar Hoover). Indeed, it appeared the war was so new that it defied Rumsfeld’s descriptive powers: “It is easie...
The relative peace that has followed the Korean War ended with an explosion in March of last year, when North Korea torpedoed a South Korean naval ship. Eight months later, the North Korean military shelled a South Korean island on the border, claiming four lives. These attacks prompted discussions of war between the two nations for the first time in almost fifty years, a war that would inevitably involve the 28,000 US soldiers stationed in Sou...
...ie, and Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, who was the highest ranking psychiatrist in the United States Army before her retirement two years ago. Both participated in the movie, which told the stories of soldiers and how the military dealt and reacted to their sexual assault. The women who reported their sexual assault discussed their experience with the system that in which they report to their commanding officer and then are evaluated for how...
Illustration by Esha Maharishi The recent failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSCDR) to reach an agreement on the reduction of the federal deficit may turn into a full-blown military budget crisis with enormous, unforeseen consequences for national security if the United States does not act soon. The question is no longer whether defense cuts must be made. They are inevitable. But if cuts are made across the board, witho...
...leasing the potential of the Third Rome by creating an energy hegemony over Europe and securing the top spot on the global list of hydrocarbon-producing countries. The road map breaks down as follows: Russia is to develop its military power using hydrocarbon revenues, open its economy to foreign investment, kill corruption at the intermediary level, and recreate a solid manufacturing base beyond the few government-supported ones that exist at pre...
Need money? Want power? Desire a job with sex appeal? Uncle Sam wants you! More like Uncle Scam, am I right? The sales pitch for military service reads like a poorly written wanted ad in the local paper. Why does the military prey on people’s insecurities? In order to understand the need for such absurd recruitment tactics and techniques, we must first understand the backdrop for military recruitment—the Poverty Draft. To understand the Poverty...
...The immediate origin of Iran’s renewed attempts to export its revolution lie in its rather awkward and precarious strategic position. During the American occupation in Iraq, Tehran faced the reality that “the Great Satan” had military forces on both borders. Across the Gulf lies Saudi Arabia, another ideological and geopolitical rival. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are enemies of the United States yet also enemies of Iran. Indeed, Afghanistan is on...
Wikimedia Commons Mayhem dominated much of last week. In Myanmar, that is, not during spring break (though that undoubtedly happened as well). A tenuous peace was restored in Myanmar days ago by the military, after a week of fighting in the town of Meikhtila that affected thousands of residents and killed more than 30. The incident undoubtedly proves a blow to the country’s internal stability, always a question mark as a result of ethnic and rel...
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