SELECTED WRITINGS
The Air Force's 'Quiet Crisis'
The United States Air Force is bleeding manpower at a rate so alarming Air Force leaders have described it as a ‘quiet crisis. Air Force leaders seem to be committed to making changes. But a continued lack of guidance, authority, and resourcing from the Pentagon will only exacerbate the manpower crisis.
Book Review: America’s Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State
The U.S. foreign policy establishment is an amalgamation of universities with dedicated regional study centers, think tanks leaning in every direction and government bureaucrats working in both public and secretive agencies. Osamah F. Khalil’s America’s Dream Palace: Middle East Expertise and the Rise of the National Security State takes the reader on the circuitous journey of the development of Middle Eastern expertise in the U.S
One Veteran's Unease when Hearing 'Thanks for your service'
Some of my angst stemmed from the fact that I didn’t feel I really sacrificed enough to earn thanks from strangers. My exposure to danger, though real, was limited to brief moments of hostile action. I never killed, nor were any of my intimately familiar friends killed. The only thing I ever bled was time.
Osama bin Ladin is Still With Us
The US has bled itself dry on military adventures around the world. The damage we have wrought upon ourselves far exceeds what Al Qaeda could ever have achieved on its own accord. No terrorist is, or will ever be, an existential threat to the United States. Only our response to terrorism can destroy our way of life.
Want to Thank Veterans for their Service? Listen to their Stories.
Corporations love the opportunity to wrap themselves in an American flag to prove their patriotism. But a gratis order of jalapeño poppers doesn’t seem equal to the burden that so many have borne. Veterans face a Byzantine VA bureaucracy, high rates of suicide, alcoholism and divorce among our peers, chronic illnesses, and an overall feeling of disengagement from civilian society. If you really want to thank a vet — solve those problems.
