Ian Kummer

I'm a former US Marine fire support specialist, and also worked for about 10 years as a public affairs specialist in the US Army National Guard and Reserves. For that reason I will mostly opine about the "information operations" aspect of current events. Please see my "about" page for more information. If you would like to reach out, you can email me at ian.michael@readingjunkie.com

Fifth Generation War In Minneapolis

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In previous decades the US failed to win an irregular war in Afghanistan. Now, apparently, the US cannot even win an irregular war in the US. Donald Trump, the president of the “world’s last superpower,” has capitulated to a militia in Minneapolis, promising largescale withdrawal and an end to most of the immigration raids.

The jokes write themselves. The US had the second best army in Afghanistan, now the US has the second best army in the US. How did it come to this? Let’s analyze.

What Battleship Potemkin Can Teach Us About Counterinsurgency

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Tretyakov Gallery hosted a 100 year anniversary screening of Sergei Eisenstein’s iconic 1925 film Battleship Potemkin. It’s a masterpiece that influenced filmmaking around the world up to the present day. Aside from simply being a great movie, Battleship Potemkin has lessons that are just as relevant now as they were a century ago. Battleship Potemkin … Read more

Will Trump’s Three-way With Russia and Ukraine Produce Results?

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Will Trump's Three-way With Russia and Ukraine Produce Results?

The trilateral talks in the UAE between Russia, the USA and Ukraine concluded on Saturday, with no resolution in sight, despite optimistic noises from the Trump Administration. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed less enthusiasm for the conference than his American counterparts, stating that there is still a lot of work to be done and it would be a mistake to be too optimistic.