Guest Posts - Blogs of War

Guest Posts

A collection of 39 posts

U.S. Objections to the Afghan Taliban: Ends, Ways, or Means?

U.S. Objections to the Afghan Taliban: Ends, Ways, or Means?

With reconciliation between the Afghan Taliban and the Afghan Government being the goal, it is clear that the U.S. does not object to Afghan Taliban ends, but instead its ways and means.

Carlos

In my office, visitors are surprised to see that I have a copy of one of my own books signed by Ilyich Ramírez Sánchez, better known as “Carlos the Jackal.”

Dereliction of Duty

Dereliction of Duty

Considering Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster's recent appointment to the position of National Security Advisor, it is prudent to revisit his book Dereliction of Duty.

Jihad: As It Was Truly Intended

Jihad: As It Was Truly Intended

The author of this post is a friend and analyst who holds a master's degree in international relations with a focus on conflict resolution in the Middle East. She has interests in the intersection of American and Muslim cultures. That, as you will read, is a place that she personally

Marie von Clausewitz: A Biography of a Wider Experience

Marie von Clausewitz: A Biography of a Wider Experience

Jill S. Russell is a military historian whose interests lie in contemporary security affairs. She has recently submitted her doctoral dissertation on logistics, subsistence and American strategic culture. She has worked as a defence consultant and in the American professional military education system. You can find her writing at Strife

Ungoverned Spaces: What Threat do they Pose?

Ungoverned Spaces: What Threat do they Pose?

Phil Walter has served in the military, the intelligence community, and the inter-agency. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not contain information of an official nature. He tweets @philwalter1058 [https://twitter.com/philwalter1058] and blogs at www.philwalter1058.com [http://www.philwalter1058.com/]. This

Julia Tatiana Bailey: Visual Artists and the Politics of Surveillance in Post-Privacy America

Julia Tatiana Bailey: Visual Artists and the Politics of Surveillance in Post-Privacy America

Julia Tatiana Bailey is an art historian specialising in visual politics in the Cold War and art as propaganda, diplomacy and resistance. She recently completed a PhD focusing on official and unofficial Soviet-American cultural exchange and works as Assistant Curator of International Art at Tate Modern in London. Julia blogs

Phil Walter: Behavior Change and the Instruments of Power

Phil Walter: Behavior Change and the Instruments of Power

Phil Walter has served in the military, the intelligence community, and the inter-agency. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not contain information of an official nature. He tweets@philwalter1058 [https://twitter.com/philwalter1058]and blogs at www.philwalter1058.com [http://www.philwalter1058.com/]. This

Violence in Israel Continues as Leaders Fail to De-Escalate Latest Crisis

Violence in Israel Continues as Leaders Fail to De-Escalate Latest Crisis

Brooklyn Middleton is an American Political and Security Risk Analyst currently based in New York City. She has written for Al Arabiya and has also published in Turkish and Israeli publications. She recently finished her MA thesis on Ayatollah Khomeini’s influence on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, completing

Espionage Among Allies

Espionage Among Allies

William J. Tucker serves as a senior security representative to a major government contractor where he acts as the Counterintelligence Officer, advises on counterterrorism issues, and prepares personnel for overseas travel. His additional duties include advising his superiors in matters concerning emergency management and business continuity planning. Mr. Tucker regularly

Isn't It Bromantic: Thoughts on Soft Biases and Gender Demographics in Military Affairs

Isn't It Bromantic: Thoughts on Soft Biases and Gender Demographics in Military Affairs

Jill S. Russell is a military historian whose interests lie in contemporary security affairs. She has recently submitted her doctoral dissertation on logistics, subsistence and American strategic culture. She has worked as a defence consultant and in the American professional military education system. You can find her writing at Kings

All Filler, No Killer: Robert Baer's "The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins"

All Filler, No Killer: Robert Baer's "The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins"

Theodore W. Weaver is a former Intelligence Officer within the CIA’s National Clandestine Service and the Directorate of Science and Technology. He has close to a decade working as a Special Agent with several Federal agencies and has worked against counter proliferation, human trafficking/smuggling, child exploitation, Intellectual Property

Dr. Aaron Mannes: A Veterans Day Reflection

Dr. Aaron Mannes: A Veterans Day Reflection

Dr. Aaron Mannes is a researcher at the University of Maryland’s Laboratory for Computational Cultural Dynamics (LCCD) [http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/research/LCCD/]. At LCCD, he is the subject matter expert on terrorism and international affairs to a team of inter-disciplinary scientists building cutting edge information systems to

Excerpt: Before the First Shots Are Fired by General Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz

Excerpt: Before the First Shots Are Fired by General Tony Zinni and Tony Koltz

General Tony Zinni (retired) was commander-in-chief of CENTCOM and special envoy to the Middle East before retiring as a four-star general. He has appeared on The Daily Show and Meet the Press, among others. He is the author of The Battle for Peace and Leading the Charge. He lives in

Michael Ross: Richard Silverstein Confuses Concept of “Tikkun Olam” with Reckless Endangerment, Cyber-Bullying, Defamation, and Mendacity

Michael Ross: Richard Silverstein Confuses Concept of “Tikkun Olam” with Reckless Endangerment, Cyber-Bullying, Defamation, and Mendacity

Michael Ross was born in Canada and served as a soldier in a combat unit of the Israel Defence Forces prior to being recruited as a “combatant,” (a term designating a deep-cover operative tasked with working in hostile milieus) in Israel’s legendary secret intelligence service, the Mossad. In his

Art as Espionage in Cold War America

Art as Espionage in Cold War America

Julia Tatiana Bailey is an art historian researching art as propaganda and diplomacy in Cold War America. She is currently completing her PhD as a Predoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. She blogs twice-weekly on Cold War art at ESPIONART [http://espionart.wordpress.com/

It's Cold Out There

It's Cold Out There

Theodore W. Weaver is a former Intelligence Officer within the CIA’s National Clandestine Service and the Directorate of Science and Technology. He has close to a decade working as a Special Agent with several Federal agencies and has worked against counter proliferation, human trafficking/smuggling, child exploitation, Intellectual Property

Everybody Spies - and for Good Reason

Everybody Spies - and for Good Reason

William J. Tucker serves as a senior security representative to a major government contractor where he acts as the Counterintelligence Officer, advises on counterterrorism issues, and prepares personnel for overseas travel. His additional duties include advising his superiors in matters concerning emergency management and business continuity planning. Mr. Tucker regularly

Excerpts from Wife and War: The Memoir

Excerpts from Wife and War: The Memoir

Amalie Flynn is an American writer and the author of two blogs: Wife and War [http://www.wifeandwar.wordpress.com/] andSeptember Eleventh [http://www.septembereleventh.wordpress.com/]. Flynn’s Wife and War poetry has appeared in The New York Times at War [http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/author/amalie-flynn/] and

Enhancing the Cyberdiplomacy Arsenal

Enhancing the Cyberdiplomacy Arsenal

Tara Maller [https://blogsofwar.com/tag/tara-maller/] is a research fellow in the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation. Her current areas of focus include sanctions, diplomacy, intelligence, cybersecurity, terrorism and women in security. Previously, she worked at BrightWire Inc., a NY-based startup, where she served as

Lynnette Bukowski: Landing Zone Grace Veterans Retreat

Lynnette Bukowski: Landing Zone Grace Veterans Retreat

For nearly three decades Lynnette Bukowski served as an Ombudsman and Volunteer Advisor to Families at myriad Naval Special Warfare Commands, and had the privilege of providing guidance and support to many young Warriors and their families. As the wife of a 32 year Veteran Navy SEAL [https://www.facebook.

A Historical Look at the Genealogy of the WMD Category & Threat

A Historical Look at the Genealogy of the WMD Category & Threat

Tara Maller [https://blogsofwar.com/tag/tara-maller/] is a research fellow in the National Security Studies Program at the New America Foundation. Her current areas of focus include sanctions, diplomacy, intelligence, cybersecurity, terrorism and women in security. Previously, she worked at BrightWire Inc., a NY-based startup, where she served as

Would the U.S. Really Kill Edward Snowden?

Would the U.S. Really Kill Edward Snowden?

William J. Tucker serves as a senior security representative to a major government contractor where he acts as the Counterintelligence Officer, advises on counterterrorism issues, and prepares personnel for overseas travel. His additional duties include advising his superiors in matters concerning emergency management and business continuity planning. Mr. Tucker regularly

William J. Tucker: Hawaii a Priority Target for Foreign Espionage

William J. Tucker: Hawaii a Priority Target for Foreign Espionage

William J. Tucker serves as a senior security representative to a major government contractor where he acts as the Counterintelligence Officer, advises on counterterrorism issues, and prepares personnel for overseas travel. His additional duties include advising his superiors in matters concerning emergency management and business continuity planning. Mr. Tucker regularly