Editor’s Note: This article contains graphic descriptions of torture, sexual violence, and psychological abuse. Reader discretion is advised. By Continue Reading
International
Iran’s Pink Missile Problem
Some regimes project power. Others perform it. And right now, Iran is doing theater. Not the kind meant to entertain—but the kind meant to Continue Reading
You May Fly Over a Land Forever; You May Bomb It, Atomize It, Wipe It Clean of Life — But…
“You may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, and wipe it clean of life — but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for Continue Reading
Sermons From Behind the Bodyguard
There is no creature on Earth more comical than the modern respectable person calling power vulgar while enjoying the quiet luxury of being guarded by Continue Reading
Iran’s “’Tis Only a Fleshwound” Strategy
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn warned about lies. Monty Python warned about something else entirely—delusion. Oddly enough, the latter might be more Continue Reading
Leave No One Behind: It’s OK That the Rest of the World Doesn’t Understand
There are a lot of things about the US military that don’t make sense from the outside looking in. Why we train the way we do.Why we push people to Continue Reading
The Broken Chair Club
There’s a giant broken chair sitting outside the United Nations in Geneva, and for once public art accidentally told the truth. One leg blown off, Continue Reading
The Alliance of Cowards
There is nothing quite as moving as the modern Western alliance in action, if by “in action” you mean standing in a tasteful semicircle, issuing Continue Reading
Europe’s Security Subscription Just Went Full Price Under Trump
Europe has two religions: Symbolism and Someone Else Paying For It. So when Donald Trump waddles onto the world stage and starts yanking the Continue Reading
A Day in the Life of a Coast Guardsman
2014 09 12 Friday The event started late in the afternoon. We received a rather vague notification that a vessel of interest (VOI) may be heading Continue Reading
If the Iranian Regime Falls: Three Scenarios the World Must Prepare For
When authoritarian regimes collapse, the moment itself often feels decisive. Flags fall. Statues are pulled down. Headlines declare the dawn of a new Continue Reading
The Whiplash Doctrine: America’s Signals in a Hot World
By Calder M. Serba There’s a particular kind of quiet that exists just inside a perimeter fence. Not peace. Not safety. Something thinner than Continue Reading