Field Notes: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Like anyone who travels often, I’m frequently asked what country I found most intriguing. I have learned something valuable...
A nation must think before it acts.
National Security Program
Winds of Change: Comparative Energy Security Policies
The meltdown of three reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on...
al Qaeda doesn’t follow its own lessons learned!
Don’t feel bad U.S. military, you are not the only force struggling to make better decisions from your lessons...
Field Notes: Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
I last saw Nuevo Laredo in late 2010, around 9pm on a humid autumn evening. I had just walked...
Why al Qaeda Needs Donations More Than Ransoms
For several months up to the recent French intervention in Mali, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has...
Field Notes: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo surprised me. Its denizens projected rugged, comforting warmth, welcoming visitors across religions and nations to visit their modern...
Will Economics Still Prevail Over Politics in Asia?
Most people today closely associate Asia with robust economic growth, fueled by expansion in infrastructure, manufacturing, and services. Even...
Are today’s al Qaeda offshoots following Bin Laden’s vision?
The May 2011 raid killing Osama Bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound not only eliminated the world’s most notorious...
Cyber Power in Strategic Affairs: Neither Unthinkable nor Blessed
This is a crosspost with my normal blog-home Kings of War, the blog of the War Studies Department of...
The Cost of Riding the Tiger: Hamas’s Road from Miscalculation to Escalation
The recent escalation in the fighting between Israel and Hamas caught many observers of international politics in the U.S....