Earl H. Tilford
Wed, November 21, 2012
The Gaza Trap
Even though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced an Israel-Gaza ceasefire, it's apparent that Gaza still holds many traps for Israel.
For example, there's the media trap. ...
Wed, October 17, 2012
Intelligence and National Security Priorities
A generation ago, in the 1970s, the U.S. intelligence community possessed the technology to discern whether or not a U.S. consulate was under attack by terrorists or by rioters run amok. Moreover, no ...
Sun, September 02, 2012
A More Immediate Threat
On July 23, 2012, Syria–one of seven nations not to sign the Chemical Weapons
Convention–admitted owning a stockpile of chemical and biological weapons. A
foreign ministry ...
Sun, July 15, 2012
On a Wing and a . . .
Not long ago, a group of 66 members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of
Defense Leon Panetta, urging him to issue guidance to counter an "alarming
pattern of attacks on faith" in the ...
Fri, May 04, 2012
Afghanization
President Barack Obama's five-point plan for turning the war back to the Afghans is designed to cover the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces and "forge a just and lasting peace." What does the plan ...
Tue, March 27, 2012
Rembering Audacious Military Operations
On March 19, speaking at a Morris Township, New Jersey Democratic Party fundraiser, Vice President Joe Biden provided what may be the mother of all election year bumper stickers when he asserted, ...
Mon, March 05, 2012
Israel's Options
Late in the summer of 1961, President John F. Kennedy asked the Air Force to plan a nuclear first strike on the Soviet Union. The plan involved 55 B-52 bombers hitting 80 targets to degrade Soviet ...
Thu, March 01, 2012
Sorry Mess: Presidential Apologies and Pardons
Much ink has flowed over the recent apologies from President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and General John Allen, commander of NATO forces in ...
Fri, February 17, 2012
Strategic Abdication
From Damascus to Tehran, a test for world leadership is underway. Daily, the Syrian military–well-armed, highly trained thugs whose current mission is to keep dictator Bashar Assad in ...
Thu, January 26, 2012
Preparing the Military for Future Threats
With breaking news of a U.S. Navy SEAL team successfully [4]rescuing two
hostages from pirates in Somalia, military pundits are quick to note how the
deployment of small, elite units will ...
Wed, January 18, 2012
Military Modernization: Back to the Future
President Barack Obama's vision for modernizing the U.S. military is little more than an exercise in "back to the future."
Consider: Back in 2001, the armed forces were nearly a decade ...
Wed, August 10, 2011
Need to Restructure DOD (Part II)
The U.S. Department of Defense must restructure to accommodate deep budget cuts and, more importantly, be ready for the challenges of 21st-century warfare. Those challenges will include ...
Thu, August 04, 2011
The Need to Restructure DOD
In 1914, on the eve of the Great War, the Duke of Cambridge wrote, "There is a time for all things. There is even a time for change; and that is when it can no longer be avoided."
Wed, May 04, 2011
A Report from Tuscaloosa's Ground Zero
The Warrior River borders the University of Alabama campus, separating old
Tuscaloosa from up-scale housing developments to the north. Tuscaloosans know a
"north of the river" address ...
Wed, March 24, 2010
Strategic Misstep or Prelude to Meltdown?
On Thursday, March 11, during Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Israel to herald the re-initiation of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Israel's Interior Ministry announced the construction of 1,600 ...
Mon, January 11, 2010
The Uncertain Trumpet and Systemic Failure
_In the mid-1960s, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Notre Dame's Rocky Bleier. Unfortunately, Steeler management failed to protect the prized rookie with the paperwork necessary to take advantage of a ...
Thu, December 31, 2009
Latest 'Human Made Disaster" Attack Succeeds
History holds that during World War II the Army executed only one American soldier, Private Eddie Slovik. There was another, a footnote to history.
In 1944, B-24 Liberators taking off ...
Mon, August 17, 2009
Christianity and Depravity in the Afterglow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Each year, in early August, debate reemerges over the use of atomic weapons to end World War II. Some historians justify their use given the prospects for a long, bloody invasion of Japan. ...
Fri, May 29, 2009
Limited Options for Dealing with North Korea
Kim Jong Il, North Korea's psychotic "Dear Leader," specializes in "guerrilla diplomacy." He backs it up with a half-dozen or so nuclear weapons squirreled away deep inside ...
Wed, January 07, 2009
Operation Cast Lead:
A Necessary, Just and Legal Response
As soon as Israeli air strikes began striking Hamas-controlled Gaza, many American church leaders started calling for an immediate ceasefire based solely on human suffering rather than the political ...
Tue, December 30, 2008
Israeli Attacks on Hamas Justified
The Hamas Charter proscribes peace with Israel. Ceasefires are possible only when advantageous to Hamas and always are temporary. Accordingly, as soon as the latest ceasefire expired, Hamas ...
Thu, October 30, 2008
Testing Presidential Mettle: JFK and Obama
Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Joe Biden recently predicted that within the first six months of an Obama administration the freshman president would be tested by a contrived ...
Wed, October 22, 2008
General Powell's Endorsement
Many conservatives wonder why retired Army Gen. Colin Powell endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. The quick answer–and the most inadequate one–is that Powell is ...
Fri, October 10, 2008
Why November 2008 Looks Like March 1936
Near the conclusion of Tuesday night's second presidential "town-hall" style debate, a questioner from the audience asked each candidate what he would do if Iran attacked Israel. Both ...
Mon, October 06, 2008
Critical Mass:
Economic Leadership or Dictatorship
Economic and political destabilization ranked high on al-Qaeda's list of strategic objectives in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington, DC. In addition to killing nearly 3,000 ...
