Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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XINYE, CHINA - FEBRUARY 02: A macaque monkey is taught to ride a bicycle as it works with a trainer at the Qilingang Monkey Farm on February 2, 2016 in Baowan village, Xinye county, Henan province, China. The area boasts a centuries-long and lucrative history of raising and training monkeys for performance. In Xinye, villagers are seeing an increase in business with the lunar calendar's "Year of the Monkey". Farmers say most of the monkeys are bred and raised for domestic zoos, circuses, and performing groups, but add that some are also sold for medical research in China and the United States. Despite the popularity of the tradition, critics contend the training methods and conditions constitute animal cruelty. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Things I didn’t know (a continuing series)
The French had four times as many dead (95,000) in the Crimean War as the British did (22,000).
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Task Force Southwest Marines complete Nonlethal Weapons Training Turnabout is fair play: A Marine officer interviews Tom about military leadership
Here is an exchange I had with Lieutenant Colonel Jeannette Haynie, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, who is working on her doctoral dissertation.
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1000w_q95 Marines on top: Defense Secretary James Mattis must be feeling good about this lineup
If anybody in the White House wants to mess with Mattis, they’re going to have to go through Kelly.
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the_general_c-_s-_forester_novel_book_cover Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly discusses C.S. Forester’s ‘The General’
Given the appointment of John Kelly as White House chief of staff on Friday, I thought that people might be interested in reading his account of how a book shaped him as a young officer.
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LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 08: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on October 8, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the rally, Trump said people were giving him credit for helping force Kevin McCarthy to bow out of the race for Speaker of the House. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images) Not so fast, Professor Zelikow!: That transgender policy change is in fact up to both the president and the Congress
If only Congress could determine who serves, then all military regulations on enlistment, retention, and health care would be unconstitutional.
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LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 08: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on October 8, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the rally, Trump said people were giving him credit for helping force Kevin McCarthy to bow out of the race for Speaker of the House. (Photo by Isaac Brekken/Getty Images) The law says transgender policy is for Congress to decide, not the president
In the flurry of media comment on this, I did not see anyone point out that the issue of whether transgender individuals can serve in the armed forces is within the exclusive constitutional authority of the Congress.
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Cincu 2[2] copy Remembering how we won the last war and why it is a good thing to do so
The U.S. military has been fighting in Afghanistan since 2001.
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fullsizeoutput_26f Our untapped resource: Junior enlisted
Here’s one of our biggest military secrets: The greatest untapped resource in the Marine Corps is the E-1 to E-5 community.
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US President Donald Trump announces US Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster (L) as his national security adviser at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on February 20, 2017. / AFP / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images) Book excerpt — national security advisor at war: McMaster as a colonel in Iraq
In sum, he basically was the first commander to get things right in Iraq.
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counterinsurgency2b21 Last man standing: McMaster for NSA?
I think Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster will be the next national security advisor. Like Vice Adm. Bob Harward, General David Petraeus reportedly has withdrawn over the issue of being able to bring in his own staff.
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Dunkirk_Film_poster “Dunkirk”: A curious war film
“Dunkirk” isn't anti-war in the traditional sense; it's an anti-war film in that it is unlike most war films.
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131014-N-LN619-178 An enlisted Navy sailor tackles suicide
There’s a good, serious article in the February issue of "Proceedings" about how the Navy could deal with suicide better.
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170130-m-qh615-197c A powerful attack on the Marine Corps leadership — by a serving Marine captain
There is a powerful article in the February issue of the Marine Corps Gazette by Capt. Joshua Waddell, a company commander in the 1st Marine Division. It is so heartfelt that it kind of jumps off the page.
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Orwell Final Web Flat We Are (Still) Living in an Orwellian World
Surveillance, drones, and never-ending wars have given new global resonance to the works of George Orwell.
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bundesarchiv_bild_101i-127-0362-14_belgien_belgischer_panzer_t13 The Dunkirk evacuation, and why it was a near-miracle for England and Churchill
This is an excerpt from my book, Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom.
