Informal Institute for National Security Thinkers and Practitioners
Quotes of the Day:
"Men being, as has been said, by nature, all free, equal, and independent, no one can be put out of this estate, and subjected to the political power of another, without his own consent. The only way whereby any one divests himself of his natural liberty, and puts on the bonds of civil society, is by agreeing with other men to join and unite into a community for their comfortable, safe, and peaceable living one amongst another, in a secure enjoyment of their properties, and a greater security against any, that are not of it. . . . This any number of men may do, because it injures not the freedom of the rest; they are left as they were in the liberty of the state of nature. When any number of men have so consented to make one community or government, they are thereby presently incorporated, and make one body politic, wherein the majority have a right to act and conclude the rest.
-John Locke, Second Treatise of Government
"The old terms must be invented with new meaning and given new explanations. Liberty, equality, and fraternity are no longer what they were in the days of the late-lamented guillotine. This is what the politicians will not understand; and that is why I hate them. They want only their own special revolutions- external revolutions, political revolutions, etc. But that is only dabbling. What is really needed is a revolution of the human spirit."
- Henrik Ibsen
"...the predominance of moral factors in all military decisions. On them constantly turns the issue of war and battle. In the history of war they form the more constant factors, changing only in degree, whereas the physical factors are different in almost every war and every military situation."
-Sir Basil H. Liddel-Hart (Strategy, 1954)
1. France says drone strike killed leader of Islamic State in Sahara
2. FDD | A New Partnership to Counter China in the Pacific
3. America’s New Anti-China Alliance
4. The Counterterror War That America Is Winning
5. What Would a New US-Philippines Defense Agenda Look Like?
6. US troops are still in Syria and nobody can give a good answer as to why
7. A 9/11 in Space? UK ‘Space Force’ Chief Warns of Increased Threat of ‘Space Terrorism’
8. Generals Should Not Have to Break the Rules to Prevent Nuclear War
9. Opinion | The Downside of High Trust in the Military
10. The Marines Are Looking for a Few Older People
11. Lebanon's new Hezbollah government | Opinion
12. The Center Cannot Hold - Will a Divided World Survive Common Threats?
13. To take on Russia and China, the US Navy is standing up a new unit to do the missions that only SEALs can do
14. French airstrike kills ISIS leader responsible for deaths of 4 U.S. soldiers in ‘decisive’ blow to organization
15. The US Air Force's special operators are hustling to turn their biggest planes into flying boats
16. After 9/11, Good Intelligence is More Important than Ever
17. Can The US Army Transform Without A New Approach to Warfare?
18. Technology, Innovation and Great Power Competition
19. Could Multinational Peacekeepers Prevent Worst-Case Outcomes in Afghanistan?
20. Biological Deterrence for the Shadow War
21. New disclosures show how Gen. Mark A. Milley tried to check Trump. They could also further politicize the military.
https://myemail.constantcontact.com/9-17-2021-National-Security-News-and-Commentary.html?soid=1114009586911&aid=0dM3a5S5K0I
