"Shirk:" Why the Islamic State Hates Shrines (and Kills Those Who Worship There) by Michael KelvingtonOn 16 February 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device that killed at least 83 Pakistanis at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, a Sufi shrine in Sindh Province. It was a catastrophic attack which also wounded over 200 other innocent worshippers, and has already been … [Read more...]
“Never Forget”: Rising Up to Call Genocide ‘Genocide’
I’ll never forget standing outside the gates of the Mathhausen concentration camp to tour the prison camp at noontime. The tour guards said, “We’re closing for lunch. You can come back after lunch or if you want to tour Mathhausen right now, we’ll lock you in while we go eat lunch.” On a tight deadline to arrive at our evening destination, we said, “That works for us.” We … [Read more...]
4 Things to Know About the Way of the World
People think that the world is a complicated place. It's not. What's happening on the world stage makes perfect sense. You just need to understand four things:1) Killing is a natural occurrence. It's a natural way to establish dominance. Either kill or be killed; the winner lives and the loser has no say-so because the loser is dead. It's an uncomplicated-truth though it is … [Read more...]
Let’s Stay Out of Venezuela
Written by Kevin WilsonLet me preface this little rant by saying that I am not inherently against using the US military to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need, to interfere in places where the government has failed its people, or even giving the Russians a good swift kick in the backside to remind them that they are not, in fact, the top dogs on the … [Read more...]
It’s 2019: Why fight wars at all?
Why fight wars at all? We lose lives and treasure even if we win. Those who survive are haunted by the violence and the price they paid; whether they were drafted or volunteered every one of them offered up their lives for an ideal.War is a bloody, terrible business. Military personnel are trained to kill their opponents and destroy their materials of war whatever those … [Read more...]
Carry On Wayward Veteran
Originally published in February of 2017.For the past 18 months, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to “unplug” from the operational Army and be a graduate student at Princeton University. During this time, I must admit I’ve been chasing ghosts. I’ve toiled and mulled over thoughts and feelings wondering: “Is there something wrong with me?” Sadly, veterans and the military … [Read more...]
The North Korean Problem: “Leadership,” by Herd Mentality
It is ironic that political leaders in the United States imagine that negotiations will solve a problem when we have had 60 years of North Korean intransigence and not one measure from the United States, the United Nations, or anyone else has done one damn thing to control the weapons growth or the belligerent attitude.Given their recalcitrance, there is even more reason to … [Read more...]
EMPs Don’t Work Like That
Written by Kevin WilsonThe Electromagnetic Pulse, or EMP, has something of a mythical status in science fiction as the all powerful killer of anything and everything electronic. Every so often, some politician or news agency reads a book or watches a show where the bad guys detonate an EMP over America, and the resulting blackout results in the apocalypse. Like most … [Read more...]
Everything You Want to Know About National Security Can Be Learned in a Nightclub
National security is becoming a sexy topic again. Thanks to the Daesh attacks, foreign policy, military concerns and intelligence issues are as hot as Kylie, Kourtney and Kendell. A re-energized American public now re-litigates issues like the Iraq War, the profiling of Muslims and the length of leash we should give the NSA.Yet the issues remain muddled. It’s hard to … [Read more...]
Losing Mattis Isn’t a Bad Thing
Although I don’t have a lot of name recognition, I have been a “mil-blogger” longer than most, which means I’ve been around long enough to see a lot of the in-fighting in the military and veteran community. And in that time I have come to appreciate just how, shall we say, schizophrenic it can be.The recent announcement of James Mattis resigning as the Secretary of … [Read more...]