The advanced industrial countries are now inoculating their populations with the Covid-19 vaccines. A Vaccine Tracker provided by Bloomberg indicates that of the following three countries, the UK’s rollout has been the most effective (36.03 doses per 100 people), followed by the US at 28.83 doses per 100 people (as one would expect, the US’s individual state variation is considerable—extending from North Dakota (36.84) to Georgia at 13.4), while the EU is far behind at 10.64 doses per 100 people. More

The United States has been at war for the past twenty years, and the last three presidents have been actively engaged as commanders-in-chief in managing conflict in the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, and Southwest Asia. The United States spends more on national security than the entire global community. Only the military and intelligence budgets have seen annual increases in recent years as civilian agencies confront tighter appropriations.  Only the United States relies on the military to carry out its foreign policy, and not merely protect its borders and its people.  More

The United States military and mercenary forces need to leave Afghanistan now.  Even Donald Trump understood this, at least in public.  The US mission was a failure within a year of its 2001 invasion.  It could not and cannot reshape the political landscape in that nation.  It tried in the 1970s and the 1980s when it created and armed the mujaheddin to fight the Soviet-supported government.  It couldn’t mold the nation of Afghanistan into a willing client after the Taliban marched into Kabul.  It has failed to do so since it invaded the country in 2001 under the pretense of going after  Osama bin Laden.  To repeat, the US needs to leave the people of Afghanistan alone. More

In the aftermath of the recent war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, drone warfare is being touted as the latest breakthrough in military technology, a “magic bullet” that makes armored vehicles obsolete, defeats sophisticated anti-aircraft systems, and rout entrenched infantry. While there is some truth in the hype, one needs to be especially wary of military “game changers,” since there is always a seller at the end of the pitch. More