Summary: Today we review a book that held special appeal to the Marine Special Operations Command’s (MarSoc’s) Foreign Military Training Unit (FMTU) because the it tells of a covert expedition — what today we’d call unconventional warfare. Nothing is truly new in war, as this was the Marine Corps expedition to the shores of Tripoli …
The Rough Math of Surrogate Warfare, today as it was in 1805 Read More »
Summary: Chet Richards explains the nature of outlaw organizations in the 21st century. Less dangerous but more difficult to exterminate than insurgents. Not romantic, but profitable. Like warfare, crime will always be with us — but its form evolves along with society. We now have two chronic examples of fourth generation infections: The Somali pirates Narcotrafficking …
Papers about piracy presented at the February 2010 convention of the International Studies Association convention:   “Theory vs. Policy? Connecting Scholars and Practitioners”. You might find some of these of interest. Piracy shows western geopolitical thinking in unusual clarity. Can we respond to a small threat without losing our minds? Not every geopolitical moment is Munich, September 1938. Can …
Summary: Pirates roam the seas, doing massive damage but avoiding retribution from the world’s civilized nations. Because they’re invisible!  To stop this scourge we must overcome our blindness. We can do so, if we wish to do so. Somalia’s pirates are a trivial threat to the world’s economy and political regime. A more serious threat are …
Much of America’s self-image as a “city on a hill” comes from our love of justice. We see this clearly in the righteousness we bring to foreign affairs.  “The Audacity of Rope — Crush all the Pirates — Now“, Ralph Peters, New York Post, 14 April 2009 — Excerpt: Attack their harbors with land, sea and …
What is this “justice” that war-loving Americans speak of? Read More »
