DefDog: Jim Clapper On Way Out? + RECAP

Surprise, surprise…..such a disaster it could be a blessing in disguise…his replacement? General Flynn, the individual who said intel in Afghanistan was a failure…..and it is. DNI Jim Clapper Out in Fall? Rumor Mill Says Maybe Colin Clark WASHINGTON: Jim Clapper, the first Director of National Intelligence to order budget cuts across the intelligence community, …

The Drone Wars

  Recently, the New York Times (4 February 2012) published a story, “U.S. Plans Shift to Elite Units as It Winds Down in Afghanistan”, and the Washington Post (5 February 2012) followed with “U.S. to elevate Special Operations forces’ role in Afghanistan.” From the Washington Post version, I noted the following salient points. “The U.S. …

Event: AM 31 Mar Washington Panel on Complexity & Reflexivity, Washington Academy of Sciences + Meta-RECAP

Complexity and Reflexivity Papers presented at the Washington Academy of Sciences Washington, DC, March 31-April 1, 2012 UPDATED 24 Feb to post all links Conceptions of Complexity and Implications for Economics Stuart Umpleby, The George Washington University, Washington, DC Experiments in Reflexive Inquiry Kent Myers, Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton Conceptual Difficulties and Pragmatic Responses to …

Marcus Aurelius: Slouching Toward Persistent War

COMMENT:  Only a couple of things wrong with the scenario described below:  (1) Vickers works for a POTUS, Administration and Congress committed to emasculating the National security operation IOT underwrite the incompetent/unindustrious/etc.; and (2) not always possible to be optimally surgical. Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2012, Pg. 30 Slouching Toward Persistent War Even as our …

Chuck Spinney: The Shadow World of the Global Arms Trade

In my opinion, one of the most important books written in recent years on the subject of the global arms trade and its corrupting effects is Andrew Feinstein’s, The Shadow World, Inside the Global Arms Trade. This voluminous book is mind numbing in its detail, but it is thoroughly sourced and, I believe, it will become a standard reference over time. …

Ralph Peters: Testimony to Congress on Pakistan As a Failing Empire, Focus on Baluchistan

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations House Committee on Foreign Affairs Baluchistan Hearing, February 8, 2012 Testimony of Ralph Peters, military analyst and author “PAKISTAN AS A FAILING EMPIRE” 2012-02-09 Ralph Peters House Testimony, Baluchistan and Pakistan (8 pages, doc) Introductory remarks: This testimony arises from three premises. First, we cannot analyze global events through reassuring …