Articles by: Bradley Peniston

Big nations, small wars

Pitch large, powerful armies against substantially smaller, weaker enemies and the result can be the David vs. Goliath effect.

In his book “Small Wars,” British Army Col. C.E. Callwell warned that a …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

TO BROADCASTER AND AUTHOR BILL MOYERS

For his lecture on the “Meaning of Freedom” at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. Moyers’ impressive speech, both thought-provoking and deeply moving, deserves to be read in its entirety …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

TO THE IRAQ STUDY GROUP FOR GETTING LOST IN

Iraq and coming out pointing fingers at our Israel-Palestinian policy. According to the report, the U.S. cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Mapping new wars: A rebuttal to ‘Blood borders’

The plan of the Bush administration to install democratic, secular, pro-American regimes in the Middle East is fast unraveling. It is a classic example of “blowback,” where your actions ensure the opposite …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Why did Donald Rumsfeld fail?

The man hired to transform the Pentagon could not change himself

Perhaps no secretary of defense has been better qualified. This was Donald Rumsfeld’s second tour of duty in the Pentagon. He …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Homer’s Greek epic offers leadership lessons for modern warriors

It is 10 years since the Greek coalition fought their way on to Troy’s wide beaches — longer than anyone expected — and still both sides persist. Just when one side seems …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

The indirect approach

When it comes to winning small wars, air power is more than putting steel on target. Air Force strategic thinking continues to be grounded in a theory of strategic attack that fails …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Challenging the technocrats

How U.S. strategists lost sight of the purpose of war

For far too long, American military planners and civilian policymakers have imagined future military capabilities through rose-colored glasses. In the 1990s, the …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Freeing bolts and gear knobs

Industry hopes new Congress will untie some export-restriction knots

Used to be that Aerospace Industries Association president John Douglass carried around a metal bracket and a length of hydraulic hose. When it …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features

Unconventional thinking

At a seminar on the subject of NATO and its further evolution, the basic premise was that the global situation had changed significantly and NATO must adjust if we are to succeed …

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0 commentsJanuary 1, 2007Features