Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. I caught a couple of news items yesterday. The first was a secret Pentagon memo that indicates China is now America’s foremost threat, especially because of fears of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The second...
Department of Offense: The US Military Is a Global Strike Force
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. Officially, the U.S. has the DOD, the department of defense. But when was the last time the U.S. military was primarily oriented toward defense of the CONUS? (CONUS is a military acronym for continental United...
Only We Can Bomb It
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. President Donald Trump has promised to bomb Yemen for a “long time.” Trump is a real president now. Presidents become “real” when they bomb something. Remember how Trump was praised by the U.S. mainstream...
‘We Are the Only Ones… Who Can Do This’
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. The so-called SignalGate scandal centered on the bombing of Yemen is highly revelatory. First, some resources. CNN has a useful annotated account of the chats exchanged at the highest levels of the Trump...
The F-47, Another New, Pricey, Warplane for the Air Force
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. Recent Air Force projects have not been entirely successful, to put it gently. The F-22 Raptor was never built in the quantities the Air Force desired, nor was the B-2 stealth bomber. The F-35 has proven to be...
William Astore: I’m Already Against the Next War
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. I’ve been reading John Ketwig’s memoir “…and a hard rain fell: A GI’s true story of the War in Vietnam,” and it’s reminding me just how plain dumb, destructive, and duplicitous America’s wars have been since...
A Revealing Poll by NBC News Tells People How and What To Think
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. According to an NBC News poll, America is rooting for Ukraine but Trump prefers Russia. Seriously. That’s the gist of the headline. The intent of this poll wasn’t to analyze how Americans think about the...
William J. Astore asks: Dude, Where’s My Country?
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. As a retired U.S. military officer, I'm appalled at the notion of "peace through strength." You may as well say "war is peace." Peace is achieved through dialogue. Diplomacy. Engagement. A spirit of good will....
We’re #1 in Selling Weapons!
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. We’re #1 (once again) in selling weapons! Amazingly, the USA now accounts for 43% of the world’s trade in deadly weaponry. No country beats more plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears than...
William Astore says War Is the True Enemy
Reprinted from Bracing Views with the author’s permission. Arguably the biggest problem in America today is that the government remains on a wartime footing. The possibility of America being a normal country in normal times, at peace, is simply never mentioned. In...
