Tokyo has by turns been seen as a promising newcomer, an evil enemy, a dedicated junior partner, a serious economic and technological threat, and now a strategic disappointment. This attitude is detrimental to Washington and Tokyo alike.
As Obama appoints Howard A. Schmidt to a new cybersecurity post, former cyberczar Richard Clarke shows America is the most vulnerable country in the world.
Afghanistan is a losing battle. Former-CIA officer Milton Bearden argues the Obama administration should turn to the provinces for answers—and consider arming the militias. Full article
There is no doubt that General Petraeus’s strategies salvaged Iraq. His successes, however, mask a vital policy debate about the future of our armed services.
Military budget cuts can induce competition that saves money and improves strategic thought. The national interest is to let the services fight it out.
Counterinsurgency is not a cure-all. Local allegiances will always trump the might of the invader. Washington’s insistence that the troops turn Kabul into a functioning democracy will only erode the military's fighting spirit.
Western society tends to see disaster all around, from climate change to terrorism. But we live in a time of unbridled prosperity. Our age has nowhere near as great a measure of crisis as the age of total war.
