war – Page 9 – The Reading Junkie

US Foreign Policy Explained: The Gun is Good, the Penis is Evil

December 16, 2022 by Ian Kummer

The wild 1974 John Boorman movie Zardoz provides some useful insights into American foreign policy (it’s crazier than you think).

NATO is Using COIN in Ukraine (I Told You So)

December 5, 2022 by Ian Kummer

Sometimes I’m wrong, but sometimes I’m right too. For the past eight months I’ve argued that thoroughly prepared for a war, but the wrong kind of war. This week, the Military Chronical Telegram channel started a rumor that was then picked up by other outlets. Let’s see what it was:

Oil Price Cap: The British Are Prepared to Fight to the Last Prussian (Again)

December 5, 2022December 4, 2022 by Ian Kummer

Tomorrow, the “free world’s” price cap on Russian oil is set to begin. This reminds me of another historical event. On 9 October, 1806, Prussia declared hostilities against France, and so began the War of the Fourth Coalition. Absolutely confident in their martial abilities, Prussian officers gloatingly sharpened their swords on the steps of the French embassy in Berlin. Napoleon crushed the Prussian army in less than a week. On 27 October, he captured Berlin, and then paraded surviving Prussian officers past the embassy they had mocked. There’s an obvious moral lesson here about not being overconfident, but today I want to talk about WHY the Prussians up as cannon fodder against Napoleon.

5 Causes of the Afghanistan Defeat (And How They Apply to a Certain Other Country

November 22, 2022 by Ian Kummer

Yesterday I came across a May 2022 report by the office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), and it is quite revealing. The report cites five specific reasons for the collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces last year.

Who Is Behind the Istanbul Bombing?

November 15, 2022 by Ian Kummer

Turkey has rejected the American embassy’s condolence message, and western media is weirdly silent about the whole affair.