ArcaMax

The destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene floods in Georgia, the Carolinas and eastern Tennessee is appalling.

So are the documented complaints and shortcomings (they are more than anecdotal) that federal disaster relief responses have been slow, uncoordinated and ill-planned.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is supposed to "manage"...Read more

Successfully recruiting and retaining skilled uniformed military personnel is absolutely essential to America's defense.

Superior military technology matters -- witness Israel's air and space defense systems smashing Iran's Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack. However, testing, controlling, repairing and employing the hi-tech gear and weapons in ...Read more

Reuters reports the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has begun inspecting all its equipment for "evidence of explosives." If accurate, that's a fascinating but understandable reaction -- scrutinizing not just communication equipment and other electronic devices but all equipment, including vehicles and, I suspect, ammunition stocks.

Why the ...Read more

The list of American security agencies stained by bureaucratic incompetence, dreadful leadership and outright political corruption just keeps getting longer.

Let's start -- but not finish -- with the erstwhile elite of the elite in the bodyguard business: the U.S. Secret Service.

On Sept. 16, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) released his "...Read more

How will the next president deal with communist China's slow war of attrition against the world?

The question is serious but too complicated for TV talking heads to ask presidential candidates, assuming the talking heads understand the threat is much more than a headline.

In the Sept. 10 debate, China's threat was treated as an economic ...Read more

On Sept. 2, the U.S. Department of Justice reported American agents had seized a corporate jet "owned and operated for the benefit" of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The agents seized the French-made Dassault Falcon 900EX in the Dominican Republic and then flew it to Florida.

DOJ's website added context. Attorney General Merrick Garland ...Read more

As I write this column, the Pentagon says the U.S. has no deployed aircraft carriers -- zero -- in the western Pacific Ocean. Two Pacific carriers have moved to the Middle East. The other carriers "in the region" are in U.S. West Coast ports -- not deployed at sea. Naval News reported Aug. 25 the carrier "gap" will continue for three weeks in ...Read more

August 2024 marks the third anniversary of the Biden-Harris administration's most consequential international policy action: the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.

Why Biden-Harris? Vice President Kamala Harris has said on several occasions she was "in the room" -- meaning in the decision loop -- when Joe Biden ordered a withdrawal based on ...Read more

The Pentagon is seeking short-term "fixes" for an old problem that has reached the point of crisis: the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard's warship and support vessel shortage -- their "hull deficit" in military jargon.

In a moment, I'll list four "semi-quick fix" proposals. The interim options buy time. They don't answer the interconnected ...Read more

The think piece has this compelling title: "America Isn't Ready for the Wars of the Future." Foreign Affairs published it on Aug. 5.

The noted authors: former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Give the article this big plus: The messengers' notoriety means major media will notice. Pray the ...Read more

In July 2014, I wrote a column that included this troubling paragraph: "With a few teeth-clenching exceptions (the Korean War's MiG Alley battles), since 1944, American land, sea and air forces have enjoyed the military and diplomatic benefits of U.S. air superiority. Unfortunately, in 2014 there are strong indications that America's air ...Read more

Joe Biden's presidency is all but finished.

Unfortunately, the harm wrought by Biden's and his subordinates' short-term media cycle tactic of projecting "a different picture" has damaged U.S. national security in the long term. The distrust and cynicism the "different picture" scam bred will scar U.S. domestic politics for at least three ...Read more