Marcus Aurelius: Tom Ricks on Shrinking the US Military

In article below, Ricks is oversimplistic.  Quality may be more important than quantity, but a certain amount of quantity is essential.  We may not have months available for a buildup as in ODS/S and OIF.  Capability and capacity are both required.)  To improve the U.S. military, shrink it By Thomas E. Ricks Washington Post, December 6, …

Marcus Aurelius: SSI Monograph on Known Unknowns – Unconventional “Strategic Shocks” in Defense Strategy Development

Ladies and Gentlemen: You may want to check out US Army War College Strategic Studies Institute paper at link below and attached: Read with a view to some of the strange things that have been ascribed to FEMA. KNOWN UNKNOWNS: UNCONVENTIONAL “STRATEGIC SHOCKS”IN DEFENSE STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT Nathan Freier Strategic Studies Institute, November 2008 EXTRACTS:

David Swanson: Groups Call on Congress to Cut “Runaway” Military Spending by 25-50%

Groups Call on Congress to Make Massive Cuts in Runaway Military Spending A diverse array of organizations today launched a campaign to enact major cuts in wasteful military spending, as part of the December 13 federal budget resolution. The groups include peace, human service, economic and environmental justice organizations, food sovereignty and green energy groups, …

Mini-Me: NYT Discussion of Cutting Military Flag Officers + Meta-RECAP on Flag Waste and Corruption

Huh? Weighing the Brass New York Times, 5 November 2013 One of the hardest-hit areas being discussed in federal budget talks is the Pentagon, which would take an automatic $20 billion cut in January under sequestration. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel proposed a 20 percent cut in his own office’s budget, but command headquarters around …

Marcus Aurelius: Can Military Learn From Its Mistakes?

1.  Ricks fails to understand that military strategy and policy do not exist in a vacuum.  The White House and Congress both have votes that can be decisive.  Shinseki and Franks were closer to right w/r/t force requirements for Iraq than was Rumsfeld.  Further, Jerry Bremer unbelievably complicated Iraq by de-Baathification and dissolutionn of the …

Worth a Look: Sir Lawrence Freedman on Strategy – Comment by Robert Steele

In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world’s leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives. The range of Freedman’s narrative is extraordinary, moving from the surprisingly advanced …