On This Date, in1941, Operation Barbarossa, Germany Invades USSR

“When the attack on Russia starts, the world will hold its breath” Hitler In June of 1941,  Germany invaded the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. The Germans had the largest invasion force in history with about 4 million men in the attacking force. They attacked along a 2900 mile front, with about 600,000 vehicles and […]

US to push NATO to stand up more than 30 battalions in Europe to counter Russia

In every meeting of NATO officials, there comes the inevitable conversations about burden sharing and the exchange of fiscal platitudes furnished by member states that continue to fall short of their financial obligations to the alliance. The U.S. representative, often Defense Secretary James Mattis but occasionally even the American president himself, will remind the organization […]

DARPA’s Iron Curtain cuts incoming rockets in half before they can detonate

By its very nature, offensive technology tends to develop faster than the defensive response. Once a weapon makes its way onto the battlefield and is proven viable, those in its crosshairs immediately set about finding ways to counter this new advantage. Sometimes a new weapon system can be successfully countered with technological advancements of your […]

Germany’s Military Readiness is Abysmal Despite NATO Obligation

As Germany prepares to assume the mantle as the head of NATO’s crisis response force in 2019, its military forces are in a horrible state of readiness that has left the military virtually non-deployable. Despite their economic strength, security experts claim that the Germans will be unable to meet their obligations and that they are […]

New Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls on NATO allies to increase defense spending

Mike Pompeo, the newly confirmed Secretary of State for the United States, found himself singing a familiar tune to NATO allies in Brussels this past week: calling on America’s allies to meet their financial obligations to the alliance and cut their financial reliance on America’s defense apparatus. Each NATO member nation is required to devote […]

Germany’s Merkel Bows Out of Military Intervention in Syria

Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that while she supports sending a message that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable, Germany will not participate in any possible military action in Syria. Merkel stressed the importance of a united position in response to an alleged attack in Douma that the West is blaming on Syrian […]

‘Denazification’ and a post WWII Germany

The picture above was taken on April 5, 1935, exactly 83 years ago today. One look at this picture and one can already surmise the difficulties Germany may have had after the fall of the Third Reich under Adolf Hitler — just because the military and political infrastructure were defeated did not mean that all […]

German private sector contributes to Kurdistan’s schools

Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is a private humanitarian aid and development group out of Germany that has recently begun renovating schools in Iraqi Kurdistan. The organization, through its cooperation with the Rwanga Foundation, has been doing similar work for over two years in the region though. The Consul General for German, Kurt Georg Stockl-Stillfried, informed […]

US expels 60 Russian officials in wake of UK nerve agent attack

The United States announced on Monday that President Trump has ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats, joining a bevy of other European nations taking similar actions following the use of a Soviet-era nerve agent on a former Russian spy on British soil. Although UK officials have permitted international access to the substance recovered from […]