Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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The United States Seventh Fleet logo. (Wikimedia Commons) Does Conformism Among Military Officers Create Conditions That Lead to Corruption?
Conformity enables corruption
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A soldier reads to children. (U.S. Department of Defense) In Case You Didn’t Buy the ‘New York Times’ Yesterday: New Military Histories
The Sunday New York Times Book Review ran my semi-annual survey of new books on military history.
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Dan Berschinski kisses his girlfriend Rebecca Taber in Dover, Delaware on Sep. 13, 2011. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) Veterans’ Day Special: An Afghan War Casualty Looks Back and Wonders Why
I am neither old and wise, nor am I an impressively decorated combat veteran.
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A U.S. Marine stands guard Apr. 14, 1993 from his position on an armored personnel carrier at a check-point in Mogadishu. (Eric Cabanis/AFP/GettyImages) Edgar on Strategy (Part IX): To what end? The frequently missing ‘why’ of strategy
Policymakers must articulate the “why” informing a strategy and periodically revaluate whether it is achievable and what ought to come next.
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The cover of "Destination Casablanca." (Public Affairs) Book Excerpt: ‘Destination Casablanca’
The naval battle of Casablanca began with airplanes.
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A depiction of the Battle of Bloody Brook in King Philip's War. (Wikimedia Commons) Lepore’s assertion on war
The names of war
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A reindeer. (Wikimedia Commons) Travels with Mattis: Finnish Edition
From the transcript of a “Media Availability with Secretary Mattis” yesterday:
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Crashback: The Power Clash Between the U.S. and China in the Pacific. Copyright © 2017 by Michael Fabey. Book excerpt: What you’ll hear about the future aboard a Chinese navy ship
Officers throughout the Chinese navy believe that China will soon end the United States’ decades-long naval hegemony in the Western Pacific.
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Girl Scout cookies (Masayuki Kawagishi/Flickr) Girls Scouts & Cybersecurity
I read recently in a new publication, ‘Rand Review,’ that the Girl Scouts now have a cybersecurity badge.
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A parable. (Wikimedia Commons) My Modest Proposal For a New Professional U.S. Military Magazine
I’d call my new military magazine PIVOT: The Journal of Conventional Military Wisdom.
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The fictional Red October, while modified, would look quite similar to this Typhoon-class ballistic missile submarine. (Bellona Foundation via Wikimedia Commons) Fiction: We often use it to make the strange more familiar, as in spy novels
Spy novels introduce us to unusual or technical information, potentially confusing events, and unfamiliar social or professional customs.
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The cast of the HBO miniseries "Band Of Brothers." (HBO via Getty Images) The beginning of ‘Band of Brothers’ as a primer on good military leadership
Band of Brothers is a miniseries about the exploits of the soldiers of E Company, 2/506 PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment) from their initial training until the end of World War II in Europe.
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Sailors help Zeus, one of two dogs accompanying two mariners who were aided by the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Clay/Released) Sailors rescue Zeus
A sea dog gets some relief.
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Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan speaks at a rally for Senator Durenberger Feb. 8, 1982. (Michael Evans/The White House/Getty Images) Edgar on Strategy (Part VIII): Reagan, Reykjavik, and strategic imagination
Imagination and fiction are essential elements of strategy.
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The logo of the U.S. Marshall Plan. (Wikimedia Commons) Quote of the day: Dubik on winning wars
"Battles and campaigns are won by fighting; wars are won by what happens after the fighting.”
