‘’. . . And all our yesterdays have lighted fools.
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” Shakespeare
Read Full Story
Captain Renault: “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” … From the classic scene in Casablanca, made in 1942 This classic “shocked, shocked” line is from the memorable 1942-43 film cast in the shadow of the ongoing Second World War, made in Rick’s Cafe Americain, and addressed to Humphrey Bogart as… Read Full Story
“President-elect Trump should direct the Pentagon to revive SDI plans for destroying ballistic missiles in their boost phase, shortly after launch — when a ballistic missile is most vulnerable and before it releases its nuclear warheads and decoys. We should not continue depending solely on the more expensive midcourse- and terminal-phase intercept capability.” … “How Trump Can Revive Reagan’s Defense Vision,” National Review, November 29, 2016 Read Full Story
“We propose to rebuild the key tools of missile defense, starting with the Navy cruisers that are the foundation of our missile defense capabilities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As we expand our Navy toward the goal of 350 ships, we will also procure additional modern destroyers that are designed to handle the missile defense mission in the coming years.”
Candidate Donald Trump, September 2016 Speech in Philadelphia
Read Full Story
Anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall immediately after the U.S. Constitution was signed to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. According to Constitution signer James McHenry, a Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Read Full Story
“ . . . As the photographic evidence makes clear, the installation of these missiles, the erection of these missile sites, has taken place with extraordinary speed. One entire complex was put up in 24 hours. This speed need not only — not only demonstrates the methodical organization and the careful planning involved, but it also demonstrates a premeditated attempt to confront this hemisphere with a fait accompli . . .” Ambassador Adlai Stevenson, before the United Nations Security Council, October 25, 1962 Read Full Story
“Putin is planning and preparing for a major military confrontation with US/NATO in northeast central Europe. He’s not committed to it. That will depend on local and temporal circumstances. But he’s planning and preparing for it. And the plan involves the early presentation of the threat of nuclear use and escalation by Russia to get US/NATO to back off and quit. To pull this off, Russia must present a picture of being better able to manage, fight, survive the nuclear escalation ladder from bottom to top . . .” Fritz Ermarth, former Chairman of the National Intelligence Council Read Full Story
“The best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain for promised joy!” ~ Robert Burns, 1785. Those words aptly describe the misplaced confidence the Obama administration placed in its touted “reset with Russia,” “strategic patience” and “leading from behind” strategies on a number of fronts, especially in the Middle East — and lay challenges for new “resets” to replace them. Read Full Story
“The Russians had developed what they called the ‘‘super-EMP’’ weapon that could generate fields in the range of 200 kilovolts per meter. And we had seen in other open literature that the Russians appeared to be using that figure as an upper bound for the kind of EMP that could be produced by nuclear weapons. So, we weren’t surprised, too surprised, to see it. They also told us that both there were Russian and other technologists, engineers and scientists, who were working with North Korea and receiving Western wages, they emphasized, helping North Korea with the design of its nuclear weapons. So, we found it extremely interesting in talking to them.” ~ Dr. William R. Graham, 2008 Testimony to the House Armed Services Committee Read Full Story
“I think the initial instinct of industry back when this first started a few years ago was, ‘Let us do many years of research and then order us to do something . . . And we said, ‘No, no, no. You’re going to get started sooner than that,’ and then we had to figure out what was the prudent thing to require — a no-regrets strategy.” ~ FERC Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur . . . No regrets for whom? Read Full Story
We will be adding key policy briefs as we progress.