Russia Derangement Syndrome: Syria Edition

“This is the endless treadmill that the civilised world is on: Libyans (and others like them) disturb the peace of the world. In turn, the West tries to kill those who would impose their will on others (because the others include us).

It is a recurrent police action and no more than that is needed; it is pointless to stay around to do some nation-building – the mistake of Afghanistan.”

How to Lose Wars and Infuriate People

“Unless American leaders begin accepting limits on what pure military force can achieve (without becoming doves), and more fundamentally, inherent limitations on their power to conduct war, then a sound strategy will never be crafted in war. Rather, we will continue to “do stuff.” Action will be conflated with accomplishment. And, threats will never be mitigated. Instead, they will simply multiply–even as we increase our expenditures and commitments to the conflict.”

The Port Authority Attack is a Snapshot of Our Future

“Clearly, the fight against ISIS has shifted away from the Mideast. President Trump’s forthcoming National Security Strategy memo rightly focuses on boosting homeland security. But the president’s national security team should also intensify its support of Asian governments where Islamic extremism is on the rise. Further, the United States should expand its special forces activities in Africa and Asia, in an effort to neutralize the Islamic State’s threat before it becomes a real problem, as it did in northern Iraq and Syria in 2014.”

Losing the War on Drugs, Part II: Mexico & Regional Destabilization

The Drug War has raged for over forty years. Yet, since 2006, the global War on Drugs has taken a turn for the truly awful. The Mexican Drug War has cost over 100,000 lives, it has destabilized not only Mexico, but also the entire Central American region (and, with Venezuela destabilizing on its own, the instability caused by drug cartels could spread there as things get more desperate). This piece assesses Mexico’s War on Drugs and how the U.S. can best respond to this instability.