Alessandra Nisch
Putin’s Wars: Testing Boyd’s Strategy of ...

President Putin made three foundational assumptions in launching his war against Ukraine that should have been correct but were not. First, Putin assumed the invasion of Ukraine would be a quick and easy fight. Second, he assumed the world would denounce the invasion but tacitly allow it. Third, Putin assumed the war would deter NATO expansion.

Putin’s Wars: Testing Boyd’s Strategy of Applied Friction

#Reviewing

#Reviewing What is the Worst That Could Happen?

#Reviewing What is the Worst That Could Happen?

Let us not turn away in the face of unattainable limits. Instead, we should push those limits and make our best attempt to imagine the unthinkable and prepare accordingly. That being said, there is no free lunch. How much time and money ought the U.S. government allocate to wargaming worst cases, or on a smaller scale, ought you devote to reading this book? The first question is too large for this review, but I will say that What Is The Worst That Could Happen? was well worth my $37.95 and an afternoon’s time, and I am confident that any reader of The Bridge will feel the same.

#Reviewing Decoding Al-Qaeda's Strategy

#Reviewing Decoding Al-Qaeda's Strategy

It is worth reviewing Al Qaeda’s strategic DNA for insights into what the group and its various factions would seek to achieve if given the opportunity. This leads the author to a prescription to contest Al Qaeda’s Salafist ideology by pointing out their extensive references to Maoist and Western strategists. I am skeptical that this would be a beneficial approach from agencies within the U.S. at least.  But, the value of this book is its message that the flea remains vigorously at work against the dog, even if we would like to ignore that itch from time to time.

A Case for Providence: #Reviewing Destiny and Power

A Case for Providence: #Reviewing Destiny and Power

Lying beneath this humanity is the unrelenting belief that each day of tedium, each crippling struggle, progresses one toward that individual peak. It’s the foundation that built Bush into a steward that led the U.S. through shifting times, though he scarcely heaped much praise from it in the moment. Rather, he bore through it, finding solace in the records he took on paper and in dictation: his journals. The ones with which Meacham has used to fill the pages of Destiny and Power, and in doing so, craft a legacy in a time with even less certainty and even more fear than the one George H.W. Bush occupied.

#Reviewing Just War Reconsidered: Strategy, Ethics, and Theory

#Reviewing Just War Reconsidered: Strategy, Ethics, and Theory

Just War Reconsidered is an absolute and urgent must-read for scholars of Just War, ethics, and strategy, as well as anyone involved in the enterprise of war—military and civilian alike. And after reading it, an energetic dialogue needs to develop and be sustained as the implications of this important contribution are gradually worked out.

#Reviewing Retire the Colors

#Reviewing Retire the Colors

Retire the Colors is a reference to the command given at the end of a service or ceremony directing the color guard to retrieve the national and unit colors and remove them from the ceremony. Rendering honors and retiring the colors marks the official end of the ceremony, and frequently, the transition to the informal social activities afterward. The reference is appropriate for this anthology of stories dealing with transition between military service and the civilian world.

#Reviewing Citizen Soldier

#Reviewing Citizen Soldier

Citizen Soldier's depiction of combat aims for a visceral reaction and challenges viewers to place soldiers’ sacrifices within the context of our ongoing wars. And it does an admirable job, leaving you tense and guessing about the outcome of the battles and ambushes the “Thunderbirds” fought their way through. The documentary’s focus on the trials of National Guard soldiers in our present conflicts, however, ignores the wider consequences of a repeatedly deployed and increasingly depended-on reserve echelon. The continued reliance upon and the “regularization” of the National Guard should force the Army, Congress, and American society to examine the role of the Guard in our current and future military operations, whether we want to watch it or not.

#Reviewing JFK and LBJ: The Last Two Great Presidents

#Reviewing JFK and LBJ: The Last Two Great Presidents

Hodgson fails to satisfactorily qualify JFK and LBJ as the titular “Last Two Great Presidents.” He does, however, succeed in building up Johnson’s reputation, one that is often denigrated for his part in escalating U.S. participation in Vietnam. Because of Hodgson’s account, we might consider reversing Reston’s characterization of the two: perhaps it was Johnson and his social reform success who made men think while Kennedy and his foreign policy dominance made men like Khrushchev act.

The Generals in Their Labyrinth: #Reviewing High Command

The Generals in Their Labyrinth: #Reviewing High Command

The fact that our most cherished ally is no longer able to analyze its own strategic situation, or participate fully in our strategic debates, should be distressing. Britain’s generals, brilliant as they may be, are trapped in a series of historical and organizational labyrinths. Needless to say, this situation may change, and Elliott is one of many voices calling out for reform. Until then, America must remain wary of allies who promise more than they can deliver.

#Reviewing Fire on the Water & Meeting China Halfway

#Reviewing Fire on the Water & Meeting China Halfway

Our analysis is built on a foundation of sand. We offer bold proclamations and precise policy proposals designed to cajole, convince, or coerce a hostile nuclear power whose decision making process is utterly opaque to us. We theorize much, and assume more, but we still do not know why the Chinese do what they do. Most critically, we do not know how to find the knowledge we lack. This is an intellectual challenge we have not begun to meet. Understanding Zhongnanhai is a wonderful methodological puzzle—but a puzzle with nuclear stakes. Until we solve this puzzle, I doubt any number of policy prescriptions will be enough to ensure peace in the West Pacific.

#Reviewing Beyond Glory

#Reviewing Beyond Glory

This film is a patriotic tribute to simple men, placed in unbelievable situations, who did only as they felt duty demanded. Their virtues and ethics combine with their humility to present a well-rounded appreciation for what it means to serve both one’s nation and one’s comrades. By presenting these stories in such human terms, Lang has done an amazing service, making abstract stories relatable to not only veterans, but to everyday Americans as well. Beyond Glory is time well-spent and a fitting tribute to the Medal recipients.

#Reviewing All The Ways We Kill and Die

#Reviewing All The Ways We Kill and Die

Castner has written a compelling account of how particular technologies put their stamp on a certain kind of war. In going far beyond that, to explore the human dimensions and costs of that war, and to point to the possibility of hope and resilience for its veterans, Castner’s achievement is as much literary as it is a technical. All The Ways We Kill and Die offers insight both into the ways that wars can be fought, and how they may be survived.

#Reviewing Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power

#Reviewing Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power

In ancient philosophy, humane authority was balanced against the concept of hegemony, in which men simply sought to accrue power for the sake of it. The key argument is that through stability, well thought out support, and a solid moral base, a government can wisely guide its people. Mr. Yan makes an exceedingly well-researched argument that the philosophies of these Chinese scholars should be incorporated into the present pantheon of Western-based theories which continue to dominate international relations theory.

#Reviewing A Passion for Leadership

#Reviewing A Passion for Leadership

Truly visionary leaders challenge the way things have been done. They create unique ways to provide remarkable service, take thoughtful risks, and proactively implement new ideas. They implement change and move the organization forward. While some members of the organization will embrace the change, others will not. To navigate change the leader needs the support of key subordinate leaders in the organization. He or she needs a champion at all levels with the ability to see it through.

#Reviewing The Conduct of War, 1789-1961

#Reviewing The Conduct of War, 1789-1961

To get the most out of this book you need to get past the obvious prejudice that Fuller has, undoubtedly colored by his exasperation with the leaders who muddled through World War One and those who sidelined him during World War Two. If you can do this, The Conduct of War is an excellent historical introspection into the character of war and its utility for achieving political advantage.

#Reviewing The Evolution of Modern Grand Strategic Thought

#Reviewing The Evolution of Modern Grand Strategic Thought

In an impressive new book, Milevski argues that grand strategy is a conceptual nomad, an idea whose course has been driven solely by immediate historical contingency, with little theoretical grounding or guidance. Over the course of nearly two hundred years, writers on grand strategy have demonstrated a curious case of presentism in their approach to studying and refining the idea. Spurred by the necessity of solving immediate problems, grand strategy has been pushed in one direction after another, whipsawed by the emergence of new contingencies.

#Reviewing Allied Master Strategists

#Reviewing Allied Master Strategists

The collaboration exhibited in this British-American alliance was essential to both the Americans and British because it gave both an arena for strategic military issues to be discussed below the level of the President and Prime Minister. While this give and take discussion on issues may not rise to the level of master strategists, it definitely positively contributed to the war effort.

SAASS Opens its Doors...#Reviewing Strategy: Context and Adaptation from Archidamus to Airpower

SAASS Opens its Doors...#Reviewing Strategy: Context and Adaptation from Archidamus to Airpower

Strategy: Context and Adaptation is definitely a book about strategy, offering many useful insights and practical takeaways for anyone interested in the field...But its greatest value is its function as a time capsule for the SAASS method of teaching timeless ideas, providing a method for the exploration of a subject area that by its very nature can never be formally captured or simply defined. In its essence, SAASS is not about hard-to-find classrooms,or groups of instructors and students stretching from the past and present. Like the classical methods that inspired it, SAASS in its essence is not the physical location where it resides...but rather the living method by which its graduates collaborate to view, investigate, question, shape, and ultimately act in ways that create continuing strategic advantage and serve the vital interests of our nation and its allies.