Why can’t we get back to the moon? It’s politics, not rocket science

Why can’t we get back to the moon? It’s politics, not rocket science

In 1969, America won the Space Race by landing on the moon. In the half-century since, technology has made just about everything easier except getting back up there. In this two part series, we explore some of the reasons why a modern moon mission is a long shot in its own right. In part one, […]

Russian media launches campaign to convince you the world is on the brink of nuclear war

Russian media launches campaign to convince you the world is on the brink of nuclear war

In recent years, as Russia’s struggling economy has limited the nation’s military modernization efforts, the Kremlin has found a great deal of success by leaning into the old Soviet practice of controlling perceptions that are spread around the world through media outlets of varying sizes that are either directly or indirectly supported by the Russian […]

Opinion: China’s recent tit-for-tat move a petulant response

Opinion: China’s recent tit-for-tat move a petulant response

China is on my crap list. Well, heck, they have been on our national crap list for a long time now. The country’s preposterous preponderance of people notwithstanding, it possesses a noticeable deficiency when it comes to thinking for itself, that China does. I have to wonder if they aren’t suffering from the scourge of […]

The world has returned to Great Power politics

The world has returned to Great Power politics

Threats to American civil life come from domestic sources: natural disasters, car crashes, the opiate crisis, and economic downturns, just to name a few. Bee stings kill (exponentially) more people than foreign-born terrorists do every year in the United States. Vast oceans and friendly neighbors have much to do with the lack of conflict, war, […]

Book Review: ‘The Second World Wars’ by Victor Davis Hanson

Book Review: ‘The Second World Wars’ by Victor Davis Hanson

“The Second World Wars” by Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and historian Victor Davis Hanson is a must read for anyone interested in military history. His book goes well beyond the dramatic storytelling that can so often overwhelm the rest of a text about this most heroic hour in our nation’s history. Instead, Hanson takes the […]

Business or politics: Where do top military execs fare best?

Business or politics: Where do top military execs fare best?

By now everyone has probably seen the coverage of Michael Flynn’s recent trial, in which the presiding judge, Emmet Sullivan, told Flynn he had “sold your country out” after he was found guilty of lying to the FBI about his dealing with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian Ambassador, according to a report from the USA Today. […]

Geopolitics made simple: You’re just a guy in a bar

Geopolitics made simple: You’re just a guy in a bar

The problem with foreign policy and geopolitics has never been about the mechanisms of international relations. For all intents and purposes, our global powers interact quite a bit like patrons at a crowded bar: trying to manage polite dialogue with familiar strangers, all the while maintaining closely held ulterior motives. That guy in the corner […]

Worldwide impact of the Brazilian elections on October 28, and why you should care

Worldwide impact of the Brazilian elections on October 28, and why you should care

The Situation — On October 28, Brazil will hold run off elections for the Presidency of Brazil, with two candidates: Jair Bolsonaro and Fernando Haddad. Jair recently missed the needed votes to secure his election and avoid having a runoff election by a few percentage points. However, the final vote will take place later this […]

Opinion: Like it or not, it matters what the rest of the world thinks of America

Opinion: Like it or not, it matters what the rest of the world thinks of America

Here in the United States, we have a short memory and even shorter foresight when it comes to international politics. We can’t seem to find it in ourselves to view the world through anything other than our own partisan lenses, qualifying our nation’s behavior, as well as the responses it garners, from the rest of […]

As Georgia eyes joining NATO, Russia offers threats of World War III

As Georgia eyes joining NATO, Russia offers threats of World War III

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, has been tasked with countering Russian aggression for as long as there’s been a Russia. First established in 1949, NATO sought to ensure peace and stability throughout Europe with an eye on the Soviet bear that was awakened during World War II, and while NATO’s purview has expanded […]