by David Isenberg The private military and security contracting (PMSC) industry has long claimed, not without some justification, that all the publicity about private security contractors—that is, guys carrying guns—overshadows and unfairly tars the work of reconstruction. This latter subcategory… Continue Reading
by Paul R. Pillar Discussions of grand strategy often are too abstract and general to be of significant practical use in formulating sound decisions about specific foreign policy problems, but sometimes a concept drawn from such discussion points to an… Continue Reading
by David Vine Amid the distractions of the holiday season, the New York Times revealed that the Obama administration is considering a Pentagon proposal to create a “new” and “enduring” system of military bases around the Middle East. Though this… Continue Reading
by David Isenberg Back in April I wrote about growing involvement of private contractors in unmanned aerial systems. Only half tongue-in-cheek I wrote: Yes, it’s PDCs—strange visitors from planets SAIC, BAE, CACI and others in galaxy Androneda—who came to Earth… Continue Reading
by Jim Lobe Yesterday’s New York Times front-page story, “Pentagon Seeks to Knit Foreign Bases into ISIS-Foiling Network,” is hardly surprising in terms of content. But the phrasing of the headline provoked a flood of memories recalling some of my… Continue Reading