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National Security and Foreign Policy
65 posts, newest first (page 1 of 3).
Rebutting the Claim That America Created ISIS and Every Other EnemyAmerica made real mistakes in Iraq, but the claim that it manufactured ISIS and every other enemy erases the enemies' own ideas, choices and history. Six Arguments Against a Strong Navy, and Why Each One SinksCarriers are obsolete, sea power is a relic, allies can cover for us. Six objections stated at full strength and answered from the record of sea power. A Thought Experiment, the Nation That Disarmed to Prove It Meant PeaceA labelled satire about a country that disbands its army and sends a strongly worded letter, followed by the real record of the 1920s and 1930s. Textbook Cold War Tales the Soviet Archives Quietly OverturnedSeven common claims about the Cold War, from who started it to whether the spies mattered, tested against Venona and the documents opened after 1991. Peace Dividends Always Come Due, the 1990s Drawdown ReconsideredBoth parties cut the force sharply after 1991 on the theory that history had ended. The bill came after 2001, and the 1998 surplus does not cancel it. PEPFAR and the Marshall Plan, When Conservatives Defended Foreign AidTwo American aid programs, the Marshall Plan and PEPFAR, show what targeted aid can do, and the skeptics' case against aid to governments shows where it fails. Foreign Aid Is Not a Quarter of the Budget, and Other Myths TestedForeign aid is about one percent of federal spending, not a quarter, and getting that wrong means conservatives argue the wrong case against the real problems. Follow the Defense Bill From Markup to Signing, a Citizen's GuideThe defense authorization bill has passed every year for more than sixty years, and a citizen who knows its calendar can weigh in at the points where it counts. How to Win a Nomination to a Service Academy, a Family's Step-by-Step GuideWest Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy usually need a nomination from Congress, and most families learn that too late. Here are the steps. The VA MISSION Act Let Veterans See Private Doctors, What It ChangedAfter the Phoenix wait-list scandal, Congress let veterans see private doctors, and the 2018 MISSION Act made that choice permanent. Here are the rules. Seven Myths About Veterans That Shape Bad Policy, and the FactsHollywood treats veterans as broken or as charity cases, but the record shows productive citizens with real, specific needs, and bad myths make bad policy. Ending the Draft in 1973 Was a Conservative Idea, and It WorkedMilton Friedman and the Gates Commission argued that conscription was a hidden tax on the young, and the all-volunteer force that replaced it proved them right. Desert One and the 1980 Disaster That Built Special Operations CommandThe failed 1980 rescue at Desert One killed eight servicemen and exposed a military that could not fight as one, and the reforms that followed fixed it. Grenada in 1983 Was Small, and It Mattered More Than the Critics AdmitOperation Urgent Fury was messy and condemned at the UN, and it still rescued students, ended a coup regime and told the world America would answer. The Roosevelt Corollary Turned Monroe's Warning Into a Police BadgeRoosevelt's 1904 Corollary stretched Monroe's shield into a license to police the hemisphere, and the record shows where deterrence ends and policing begins. Jeane Kirkpatrick Taught the Right to Tell Allies from EnemiesA Democrat wrote the 1979 essay that reshaped Republican foreign policy, then served Reagan at the UN. Her career, her idea, and its best critics. The Weinberger Doctrine Set Six Tests Before Sending Troops to FightWeinberger's 1984 speech set six tests for committing forces. The tests, Powell's version, Shultz's objection, and a check against Grenada, the Gulf and Iraq. Why Did We Lose in Afghanistan? Twelve Questions the Record Can AnswerTwenty years of war left a public paper trail. Twelve plain questions about Afghanistan, answered from the inspector general's reports and the record. Abbey Gate and the Withdrawal From Afghanistan, the Record in OrderThirteen American service members died at Abbey Gate in August 2021. A dated record from the Doha agreement to the last flight, with what each decision cost. The Patriot Act After Two Decades, Two Conservative Verdicts ComparedConservatives who passed the Patriot Act and conservatives who fought its renewal both invoke the Fourth Amendment. Each case, side by side, with the record. The 9/11 Commission Found a Failure of Imagination, Read Its Real LessonsThe 2004 report is a bipartisan, readable record, and its lessons on walls between agencies still hold. What it found, and what Congress ignored. Bin Laden Declared War on America Twice Before Anyone ListenedAl-Qaeda announced its war in 1996 and again in 1998, then attacked. A dated timeline from 1993 to September 11, 2001, drawn from the 9/11 Commission record. Space Became a Battlefield in 2007, and the Space Force Is the AnswerThe Space Force jokes miss the point. China proved in 2007 that it can kill satellites, and the answer was always a service whose only job is the high ground. The OPM Breach Gave a Rival Government the Files on Millions of AmericansIn 2015 a foreign government took the background files of about 21.5 million people. It was a counterintelligence disaster the coverage filed under tech.
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