Archive for the ‘National Security’ Category

Conservative Internationalism

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 by BH

But what tradition did Reagan represent? The debate between realists and liberal internationalists leaves no explanation for Ronald Reagan ’s eclectic foreign policy choices and the extraordinary outcomes he achieved. The conventional foreign policy traditions don ’t fit. Realists and liberal internationalists try to claim Reagan but they ...

The Surge

Monday, September 22nd, 2008 by BH

An interesting program evaluation. (HT)

Background on Khalid Shaikh Mohammed

Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 by CJB

I think this is a very interesting article on the background story of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.  It is also intriguing that the NYT decided to use the main interrogator's name despite CIA and the person's opposition.

Objective Analysis

Sunday, April 20th, 2008 by CJB

The NY Times has an interesting article on the Defense Department making a concerted effort to influence military analysts that provide "objective" analysis to the watching public.

Understanding the Universe

Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 by CJB

Another fascinating physics article.  The CERN particle accelerator could quickly give us amazing insights into the unknown universe. 

Legal Jeapardy: Particle Accelerator Ends World

Saturday, March 29th, 2008 by CJB

This is a great article and a fascinating case I think.  A few people are bringing a case that  would suspend operations at particle accelerators because they fear that they could create black holes that then swallow the entire world.  It sounds crazy, but rational people have at least theorized ...

4000 Dead

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 by CJB

We recently passed 4000 dead soldiers in Iraq.  Is it a milestone or a meaningless number?  It is a small number by comparison to many of our other wars, but when you take into account all the severe injuries we have sustain that would have been deaths in previous times ...

We have no spies on Al Qaeda

Thursday, March 20th, 2008 by CJB

A very interesting article from the Washington Post.  We are no closer to Al Qaeda than we were a decade ago. 

Bin Laden in the News Again

Thursday, March 20th, 2008 by CJB

Osama bin Laden reportedly left another message for the world.  He is threatening retribution for the Dutch cartoons again since they were reprinted.  Doesn't he have more important things to focus on?  I guess not.  This does bring up an important question of how far does free speech go or how far ...

Space War

Monday, March 17th, 2008 by CJB

Apparently the Chief of the U.S. Strategic Commend hinted "during a Senate hearing that the Pentagon has plans to conduct warfare in space as well as in cyberspace."  While this may be true, publically and expliciting stating such things cannot be beneficial for us trying to limit other countries from ...

Waterboarding Veto

Sunday, March 9th, 2008 by CJB

On Saturday, President Bush vetoed a bill that would have explicitly prohibited certain forms of "torture," such as using simulated drowning and other coercive interrogation methods to gain information from suspected terrorists. This debate has been around for a number of years now and the President has always held ...

Youtube Down

Monday, February 25th, 2008 by CJB

Yesterday apparently YouTube.com was down for an hour or two because of an errant attempt by people in Pakistan to prohibit the viewing of a specific video.  It was something about the IP address, though people are still determining the true cause.  It is crazy to me that a foreign ...

Missile Hits Satellite

Friday, February 22nd, 2008 by CJB

The U.S. destroyed a satellite 130 miles in the sky.  China and Russia are worried that this was merely a test to determine or improve our missile defense capabilities.  Does this harm our diplomatic relations with those countries?  Does it matter?  It does matter, but we shouldn't be overly concerned.  ...

Castro’s Out, now Let’s Reminisce

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 by CJB

This morning Fidel Castro resigned as Cuba's president after almost 50 years in power.  Will this change the U.S. relations with that small country near the Florida border?  I am doubtful, but it makes me wonder why we have had such a poor relationship with that country for so many ...

The war machine

Thursday, February 14th, 2008 by BH

Now I was hating the war way back before anybody realized there was a bandwagon to jump on, but picketing a Marine recruiting center? How is that tolerant? Seriously. That's not the definition of tolerance. It's nice to see some semblence of sanity restored to matters (SF Chronicle): After a day of ...

Economic Stimulus

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 by CJB

President Bush signed the Economic Stimulus package today to much fanfare.  Many people will receive $600 checks starting in a few months and companies can depreciate items quicker.  I can't wait to see stimulative effect of this grand bill.  I also look forward to our National Debt increasing quicker.  Why ...

Spy Cases: What about open sourcing life

Monday, February 11th, 2008 by CJB

Most people are undoubtedly aware of the two recent arrests of people providing secrets to the Chinese. I would like to throw out a novel thought - one that I am not recommending, but one I think deserves a look - what about open sourcing intelligence gathering and manufacturing of ...