Geography & Strategy - CounterStrikeMedia

RAND CORP STUDIES NATURE OF DETERRENCE, CONQUERING STRESS & STRATEGIC DESIGN

11/29/2018

Strategic Design for the Complex Realm
By Jeremiah Monk, Strategy Bridge: “Strategic design differs from planning not only in its strategic context, but also in purpose, methodology, and output. Unlike plans, which attempt to script out a sequence of actions, strategic design should aim to comprehensively and continuously understand the problem."

The Marine Corps Must Locate, Close With, and Destroy Stress
By Miguel Zeran, Proceedings Magazine: “Institutionally enabled and self-induced chronic stress is one of the greatest threats to the security of the Marine Corps as it confronts difficult and diverse challenges. While often considered a temporary mental-emotional state, stress has very real acute and lasting effects on the intellect, body, and spirit.”

What Deters and Why
What must the United States do to deter potential aggressors from attacking allies or other countries in large-scale conventional conflicts? Managing an adversary's motives is the key first step. Read more »

Eric Edelman and Gary Roughead, Providing for the Common Defense: The Assessment and Recommendations of the National Defense Strategy Commission (United States Institute of Peace, 2018).

IN THE SHADOW OF THUCYDIDES TRAP

11/29/2018

In the shadow of the Thucydides Trap
Oriana Skylar Mastro | Journal of Chinese Political Science
Rising powers and the consequent shifts in the balance of power have long been identified as challenges to the international order. What is the likelihood that China and the US will fall into the Thucydides Trap, meaning that the two countries will fight a major war during a potential power transition?

GLOBAL MISSILE DEFENSE SENSORS

11/29/2018

Beyond the Radar Archipelago: A New Roadmap for Missile Defense Sensors by Thomas Karako

Not So Fast, Rep. Smith: Why We Need Modernized Nuclear Weapons
By Thomas Callender, Thursday, November 29, 2018 1:21 PM

DEFEATING CHINA'S SEA-BORNE MILITIA, LONDON'S OPTIONS AFTER THE BREXIT & HOW NORTH KOREA DEFEATED TRUMP

11/27/2018

Revealing China’s Maritime Militia to Deter its Use
By Andrew S. Erickson, The National Interest: “At the U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue press conference on November 9, Defense Secretary James Mattis made a great contribution by using his top-level authority to shine a spotlight on China’s third sea force , the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia (PAFMM)."

Great Britain’s Options After Departing the European Union
By Steve Maguire, Divergent Options: “Great Britain will leave the European Union in March 2019 ending decades of political and economic integration. This has left Britain at a strategic crossroads and the country must decide how and where to commit its military and security prowess to best achieve national objectives."

How Kim Has Played Trump
Kent Harrington and John Walcott argue that the North Korean regime has fully outmaneuvered the current US administration.

MULTI-DOMAIN CHALLENGES FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC

11/27/2018

Head of US Army Pacific Command talks multidomain challenges in the region
(Defense News) Amid North Korea’s nuclear and missile projects and China’s growing influence in the region, the head of U.S. Army Pacific Command, Gen. Robert Brown, has refocused the organizations mission to focus on defining critical doctrine and fostering stronger relationships with allies and partners.

New US strategy for counterterrorism: Implications for Southeast Asia
Jessica Trisko Darden | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Heritage Foundation’s Edwin J. Feulner: Russia violates the treaty and China builds missiles

THE SECOND NUCLEAR AGE IS UPON US

11/23/2018

https://www.amazon.com/Second-Nuclear-Age-Strategy-Politics-ebook/dp/B0085UEQG6/ref=sr11?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1528077983&sr=1-1&keywords=paul+bracken+second+age

REVISITING OUR ROAD TO VIETNAM

11/23/2018

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Disaster-History-Americas-Descent-ebook/dp/B074SGPRZ4/ref=sr11?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1542770180&sr=1-1&keywords=brian+vandemark

HOOVER: STRATEGIKA & GLOBAL GOVERNANCE EXAMINED

11/23/2018

HOOVER

CAN THE QUAD GET IT TOGETHER?

11/20/2018

Why the Quad can’t get it together
BY ALAN BOYD
US, Japan, Australia and India failed to ink a joint communique at their Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting, underscoring the security pact's divergent threat perceptions of China

WHY TPP DOOMED TO FAIL

NEWSWEEK: WHY ITS TOO LATE TO RESTART TPP

VOX: WHAT IS TPP

WHAT HAPPENED TO BOBBY FISCHER?

11/15/2018

HOW SUN TZU FELL TO CLAUSEWITZ IN WAR: THE REASON IS POLITICS

11/15/2018

The Confusion of Clausewitz in Modern Warfare
By Daniel Covany, RealClearDefense: “It is not uncommon in today’s world to see some quote of the infamous general Carl Von Clausewitz manuscript “on war” in an article or presentation advocating for current counterinsurgency strategies.”

Pentagon Chief Management Officer Essential to New Defense Strategy
By Arnold L. Punaro, RealClearDefense: “The recent announcement that the Pentagon’s first Chief Management Officer, Jay Gibson, would resign at the end of November highlights the inherent difficulty of reforming the Pentagon’s massive agencies and antiquated business processes.”

Strategy Without Politics is No Strategy
By Kori Schake, Lawfare: “The lessons of World War I are many and varied for those who study warfare. To name a few: economic interconnectedness does not avert armed conflict; democratic states are capable of making durable and costly commitments to both war effort and alliances; the decisiveness of battlefield outcome is a central determinant of the sustainability of peace settlements; technological innovation can radically alter the offense-defense balance in military operations; and “laws of war” can be developed that create enduring norms limiting classes of weaponry.”

Remembering the Moral Purpose of War
By Paul D. Miller, Atlantic Council: “Our remembrance of the Great War is colored by its moral ambiguity, by our knowledge that it did not resolve its underlying causes, and by the fact that it ended up causing more problems by how it ended. But the war is enormously influential in American history because it set a template for how Americans forget wars when we forget why they were fought."

Wars in All but Name
By Stephen B. Young, Small Wars Journal: “Perhaps Clausewitz has misdirected our attention away from what is war in all but name.”

WHY THE US CAN ONLY HANDLE 1 BATTLE AT A TIME

11/15/2018

A wobbling Goliath
Giselle Donnelly | Strategika
Internal consensus within America on the decline of its role on the global stage threatens the modern international balance of power established under American influence.

Don’t Expect Any Trump Boost To Defense Spending

Why the US military is in serious trouble
(The National Interest) The report of the National Defense Strategy Commission, released Wednesday, reaches conclusions with profound implications for U.S. national security. The report itself is a rarity for Washington, presenting bipartisan consensus that reflects hard-hitting views rather than watered-down, lowest-common-denominator mush.

DEFENSE ONE: PDF, HOW US LOSES WAR AGAINST CHINA & RUSSIA

A ‘crisis of national security’: New report to Congress sounds alarm
(Defense News) America’s military superiority has “eroded to a dangerous degree,” leaving the U.S. in a “crisis of national security,” especially if faced with more than one conflict at once, a new congressionally-mandated report concluded.

The U.S. faces an expanding risks from China, including threats to the technology supply chain, Beijing’s military expansion in the Indo-Pacific region and the country’s efforts to undermine sanctions on North Korea, according to an annual report by a bipartisan congressional panel. – Bloomberg

Two prominent U.S. senators expressed alarm on Tuesday about the military and political consequences if China gains control of a port terminal in Djibouti, and said they were concerned it could further boost Beijing’s influence in East Africa. – Reuters

Ross Marchand writes: Federal appropriations and acquisition leaders should wake up and realize that America’s national defense is too critical to design based on political clout rather than strict utility, efficiency, and merit. […]For these reasons and more, Congress should think of the hardworking American citizens that are footing the bill and begin putting country over politics. – Washington Examiner

The United States has lost its military edge to a dangerous degree and could potentially lose a war against China or Russia, according to a report released Wednesday by a bipartisan commission that Congress created to evaluate the Trump administration’s defense strategy. – Washington Post

DIRECTIONAL SENSORS & STRATEGY FOR SWARM KILLERS

11/10/2018

Tom Karako writes: But without omnidirectional sensing, U.S. air defenses and their defended assets may also end up dead, suppressed by enemy threats they cannot see. And that’s why air defenders need 360-degree sensor coverage. […]At stake is survivability in a challenging aerial-threat environment. Sacrificing 360-degree coverage for LTAMDS could be a grave mistake. Army leadership shouldn’t make it easier for the enemy to suppress Army air defenders by lowering sensor requirements. – Defense News

Minuteman III Replacement Program Moves Toward Next Phase
By Nick Adde, National Defense Magazine: “The current ground-based strategic deterrent system is reaching the end of its useful lifespan. First installed at Northern Tier Air Force bases in 1968, the LGM-30 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles were intended to serve for a decade.”

Swarm Killer: Raytheon's Mobile Laser Defense
By Tiago Machado, The National Interest: “On October 10, Raytheon released its High-Energy Mission Scenarios marketing vid where it lays out its vision for networked laser defenses, but how early Raytheon can deliver—if at all—remains to be seen.”

BREXIT, NORTHERN IRELAND & THE RETURN TO COLONIAL POLITICS

11/9/2018

UK GUARDIAN
BREXIT & THE BORDER
UK GUARDIAN: IRELAND

on_ireland’s_border__‘that_sad_old_game’_-_the_new_york_times.pdf
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invisible_irish_border_carries_the_scars_of_a_fractured_past_-_the_new_york_times.pdf
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opinion_\|_the_last_gasp_of_northern_ireland_-_the_new_york_times.pdf
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THE ATLANTIC

WHY 1896 STILL MATTERS TODAY

11/9/2018

The 1896 political environment resembles that of today: A rapidly changing electorate affected by a growing immigrant population, an uncertain economy disrupted by new technologies, growing income inequality, and contentious issues the two parties could not resolve. McKinley found ways to address these challenges and win, which is why his campaign is so relevant to our politics now.

McKinley, a Civil War hero who preferred “The Major” above any other title he was given, changed the arc of American history by running the first truly modern presidential campaign. Knowing his party could only win if it grew beyond its base, he reached out to diverse ethnic groups, including openly seeking the endorsement of Catholic leaders and advocating for black voting rights. Running on the slogan “The People Against the Bosses,” McKinley also took on the machine men who dominated his own party. He deployed campaign tactics still used today, including targeting voters with the best available technology. Above all, he offered bold, controversial answers to the nation’s most pressing challenge—how to make a new, more global economy work for every American—and although this split his own party, he won the White House by sticking to his principles, defeating a charismatic champion of economic populism, William Jennings Bryan.

REAGAN & NUCLEAR WAR IN 1983

11/9/2018

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078M9YTK5/ref=dbsadefrwthschvapitaftp1i0

A SILLY, OVERUSED WORD IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS: STRATEGY & A LOOK AT RUSSIAN INTERMEDIATE RANGE MISSILES; THE LIMITS OF INTEL FOR THE LONG WAR

11/9/2018

Does the U.S. Military Really Need More Strategists? by James Joyner

What We Owe the Vietnam Veterans Who Stayed by David Barno and Nora Bensahel

Is the U.S. Military Ready for the Threats It Faces?
By Adam Twardowski, Brookings: “The United States vastly outspends its rivals and allies on defense, but today experts debate whether that spending has delivered a military ready to confront the threats and challenges that the nation faces.”

Russia’s Intermediate-Range Missile Production Challenge
By Maxim Starchak, Eurasia Daily Monitor: “After President Donald Trump’s stated decision to withdraw the United States from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, signed in 1987 by Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, some experts asserted that Russia will now be free to deploy a variety of ground-launched medium-range missiles in response.”

One Hundred Years of American Grand Strategy
By Daniel Fried, Atlantic Council: “On November 11, 1918, World War One, the Great War, ended. Amid the chaos that followed—revolution, the fall of empires, and rise of nations—the United States attempted to build a rules-based world which favored freedom."

Intelligence and You: A Guide for Policymakers by Brian Katz

HOW THE GREAT WAR ENDED 100 YEARS AGO TODAY

11/9/2018

Should we have ever fought the First World War?
Read more

The 11th Hour Of The 11th Day Of The 11th Month-100 Years Ago
by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness
The First World War ended 100 years ago this month on November 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. Nearly 20 million people had perished since the war began on July 28, 1914. In early 1918, it looked as if the Central Powers—Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire—would win.

Still In The Trenches: World War I And Its Complicated Aftermath
featuring Stephen Kotkin via Princeton Alumni Weekly
One hundred years later, all remains quiet on the Western Front. An area known as the Zone Rouge running from Lille to Verdun, scene of some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War, is fenced off to this day. Entire towns within it were abandoned, the surrounding fields and collapsed trenches filled with human bones and tons of unexploded ordnance. It remains too dangerous to enter, the soil still saturated, even now, with the chemicals of war: mercury, lead, chlorine, and arsenic.

LANCE MORROW
The Presbyterian Minister’s Son
Reconsidering Woodrow Wilson, 100 years after the Armistice ending the First World War

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: WWI

us must manage china's rise

11/7/2018

Four Reasons to Manage China’s Rise
By Dhruva Jaishankar, the interpreter: “Today, China shapes almost every global issue of note, from climate change to trade, and from regional security in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to investment trends in Africa and Central Europe."

Operation BADR: Defeating A2AD With DIME
By Scott Humr, Strategy Bridge: "While the U.S. has continually maintained a sizeable margin in military technological superiority over many adversaries, recent developments from near-peer competitors such as China and Russia are beginning to challenge this supremacy. The 1973 Arab-Israeli War provides an example of how even relatively inferior forces overcame similar threats from a more powerful adversary through a whole of government approach. "

Whether The U.S. Scraps The INF Or Stays In, China Must Be Checked
(Forbes) Beyond the merits of being in or out of the treaty, the U.S. must address the treaty’s unintended consequences that resulted in China’s conventionally-armed missile advantage in the Pacific.

CHINA:
Strike-Capable Wing Loong II Drone Enters PLAAF Service
By Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: “The Chinese-designed next-generation medium-altitude long-endurance and strike-capable Wing Loong II (also known as Gongji-2 or GJ-2) unnamed aerial vehicle (UAV) has officially entered service with China's People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).”

DURING WAR AND REVOLUTION, THE US LAUNCHES BLACK SEA FLEET

11/5/2018

https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Black-Sea-Fleet-Revolution/dp/168247187X

WAR WITH CHINA SOONER: TRUMP AIMS FOR CHINA

11/5/2018

The Demise of the INF Treaty and a Return to Nuclear Warfighting
By David Lonsdale, The Strategist (ASPI): “Some criticism of the decision is based on the misunderstood notion of strategic stability. Intermediate-range forces were originally banned because their short flight times and close proximity to the enemy were seen as destabilising factors.”

WHAT'S MISSING FROM THE NATIONAL DEFENSE STRATEGY DOCUMENT

11/3/2018

HERE'S WHAT'S MISSING FROM NDS DOCUMENT

BROOKINGS: HOW TO READ THE NDS

BROOKINGS: ANALYSIS ON NDS

2018-national-defense-strategy-summary.pdf
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nds_from_qdr.pdf
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2018-nuclear-posture-review-final-report.pdf
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DEFENSE NEWS: QUICK REVIEW OF NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW

DEFENSE NEWS: MISSILE DEFENSE REVIEW

Beyond INF: Countering Russia, Countering China (Analysis)

Beyond INF: A Democratic House & A New Era Of War (Analysis)

INDIA SEEKS US WAVER AFTER BUYING RUSSIAN MISSILE SHIELD

11/3/2018

TOI

CHINA'S AIM: DOMINATE GLOBAL MARITIME TRADE & CENTRAL ASIA TAPS ISLAMIC FINANCE INSTRUMENTS

11/3/2018

China’s Campaign to Dominate Maritime Commerce
Christopher O’Dea, National Review

Tatarstan president pushes for Islamic finance

Pushback: America’s New China Strategy
By Robert Sutter, The Diplomat: “A situation report from Washington assessing the U.S. whole of government opposition to China’s challenges.”

CNBC: TARIFFS HURTING SHIPPING OUT FROM CHINA

WHAT SHOULD THE WEST HAVE LEARNED ABOUT ITS INTERWAR PERIOD & WALTER RUSSEL MEAD EXAMINES THE RETURN OF GEOPOLITICS

11/1/2018

A Message to the Leaders of the 21st Century Interwar Period
By Jonathan C. Nielsen, Small Wars Journal: “One may argue that the military profession functions similarly as the greatest military leaders have valued a balance of learning and innovating as an essential blend to make the right decision at the appropriate time in what is, by nature, an uncertain and hostile environment. But even this comparison is inexact.”

Walter Russell Mead writes: The return of geopolitics means the basic framework for economic policy has changed. In periods of great-power rivalry, national leaders must often put geopolitical goals ahead of economic ones. […]President Trump cannot be blamed for the return of geopolitics. Russia, China and Iran decided to challenge the American power on which the economic order depended, and Mr. Obama’s response to that challenge was, regrettably, insufficient. – Wall Street Journal

Russia ‘assessing’ military base in Cuba as US leaves INF treaty
BY ASIA TIMES STAFF
Proposals for such a response are being prepared, despite political obstacles

GLOBAL GEOPOLITICS

ATLAS PRO YOUTUBE

DOUGLAS BARRIE: SPACE DEFENSE

THOMAS BUSSING: RAYTHEON MISSILE DEFENSE, STRATEGIEST

JAMES ACTON: NUCLEAR MISSILE DEFENSE

DR. MICHAEL PILLSBURY

HENRY ROWEN
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CHARLES WOLF JR.
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ANDREW MASHALL 'YODA'
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AMERICA NEEDS NEW ALLIANCES

why_america_needs_new_alliances_-_wsj.pdf
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POLYBIUS & ANCIENT GRAND STRATEGY
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CENTER FOR POLITICAL & MILITARY POWER

SUN TZU ISN'T WORKING FOR CHINA ANYMORE

SUN TZU ISN'T WORKING FOR CHINA
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THE QURAN & MORAL STRATEGY FOR THE LONG WAR

WHEN WAR WITHOUT END, FINALLY ENDS

WHEN WAR WITHOUT END, FINALLY ENDS
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THUCYDIDES & THE LONG WAR PROBLEM

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR

WHAT HAPPENED DURING PELOPONNESIAN WAR
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THUCYDIDES TRAP IS GREAT POWER COMPETITION

THUCYDIDES TRAP = GREAT POWER COMPETITION
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CENTER STRATEGIC, BUDGETARY ASSESSMENTS: U.S. GRAND STRATEGY

DAVID P. GOLDMAN COLUMN ASIA TIMES

HOW BEST TO UNDERSTAND U.S. - CHINA RELATIONS

STRATEGY BRIDGE

Winning World War IV David P. Goldman.pdf
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THE NEW ASIAN OBSERVER

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