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Category Archives: EMP

October 8, 2013—Rouhani Rope-a-Dope and a Trip Down Memory Lane!

by Scott Cooper on October 8, 2013 in EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Middle East, Missile Defense, Rouhani, Russia, Syria

Last week, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani pursued a “charm offensive” in New York including in his address to the United Nations General Assembly. Because he previously diverted interests in the West with seemingly cooperative initiatives while Iran continued enriching uranium, we should be skeptical of his promises not to build nuclear weapons and mate them to ballistic missiles that could reach Israel, our European allies and the United States. He wants the West to lift its sanctions on Iran—while we, and Israel, have insisted that Iran must not gain a nuclear weapons capability. Hopefully, U.S. and other Western leaders will not be taken in by Rouhani’s soft rhetoric. Stay tuned. Read Full Story

September 24, 2013—Don’t Believe Your Eyes!

by Scott Cooper on September 23, 2013 in EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Middle East, Missile Defense, Rouhani, Russia, Syria

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani openly bragged of shepherding a major expansion of Iran’s uranium enrichment programs a decade ago, when he led Iran’s negotiations with the West that were seeking to limit those programs. He still serves the continuing objectives and policies of Iran’s same supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that call for destroying the “little Satan” Israel and the “great Satan” America. Rouhani’s current approach, which many describe as “moderate,” actually promises more of the same under Khamenei. Thus, Iran’s alleged moderate approach provides cover for achieving a uranium and/or plutonium nuclear capability—possibly within months. Will U.S. and other Western Diplomats again be taken in by Rouhani’s softer diplomatic approach than the bombastic pronouncements of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who also served the wishes of Khamenei? Stay tuned. Read Full Story

September 20, 2013—Go Aegis: Be All You Can Be!

by Scott Cooper on September 20, 2013 in Aegis, EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Missile Defense, The Shield Act

Extensive tests of the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, designed primarily to defend our overseas troops, friends and allies, also demonstrate an inherent capability to defend the U.S. homeland from several important threats. The Pentagon, especially the U.S. Navy, should be encouraged to fully develop this inherent capability, especially in responding to a congressional mandate. Read Full Story

September 18, 2013—Jaw-Jaw Better than War-War?

by Scott Cooper on September 18, 2013 in EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Middle East, Missile Defense, Red Line, Russia, Syria

While the international community seems singularly focused on unrealistic diplomatic initiatives to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons, other threats and associated dangers continue. Forgotten is the President’s promised retribution for Assad’s crossing a “red line” by using these weapons while an international gabfest proceeds and Russia’s influence grows. Promises of success in the Syrian enterprise are much overstated and related dangers are being understated. And more Middle East problems may be coming, especially concerning Iran. Read Full Story

September 14, 2013—An Uncertain Trumpet . . .

by Scott Cooper on September 14, 2013 in Egypt, EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Middle East, Missile Defense, Red Line, Syria, The Shield Act

In the wake of the President’s exchanges at the G20, an off-hand comment by Secretary of State John Kerry in London and a Russian initiative, we have kicked the can on whether to attack Syria in response to Assad’s alleged use of chemical weapons (this time) and have embarked on a diplomatic course apparently led by Russia. The President’s speech offered little clarity and the administration’s muddled policies continue to unfold, now in a more dangerous world than before. Read Full Story

September 10, 2013—Beware the Scorpion’s “Tale” . . .

by Scott Cooper on September 9, 2013 in EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Middle East, Missile Defense, Red Line, Syria

Remember the fable about the frog that gave a scorpion a ride across the river assuming he would be safe because if the scorpion stung him they would both die? But the scorpion stung him anyway, because that was “in his nature.” There’s a bit of an analogy to the dangers of dealing with most of the states of the Middle East. Read Full Story

September 3, 2013—The Hobgoblin of Little Minds?

by Scott Cooper on September 3, 2013 in EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Missile Defense, Red Line

For years, I misquoted Churchill as saying “Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds” . . . He may have, but if he did he surely would have credited Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote a century earlier, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen, philosophers and divines” apparently to argue against too much consistency and for new thinking and self-reliance. Whatever . . . recent U.S. policies will never be criticized for being too consistent—except in their inconsistency. Read Full Story

August 28, 2013—About that Reset . . .

by Scott Cooper on August 28, 2013 in China, Egypt, EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Missile Defense, Reset, Space Based Defense

In 1785, Robert Burns wrote To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, which contained these famous words: “The best laid schemes of mice and men go often awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain for promised joy!” Those words aptly describe the misplaced confidence in the Obama administration’s touted “reset” strategies on a number of fronts—and lay a challenge for new “resets” to replace them. Read Full Story

August 23, 2013—On El Sisi’s Democracy . . .

by Scott Cooper on August 23, 2013 in Egypt, EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Missile Defense, The Shield Act

General Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s 2006 Army War College Thesis on Democracy in the Middle East is worth a read to help understand how events in Egypt may unfold. While the military’s support for the moderate faction of the Egyptian body politic that protested against Mohammed Morsi’s rule is a welcome sign, his thesis includes some troublesome statements that raise questions about the future. Read Full Story

August 20, 2013—A Republic, If You Can Keep It!

by Scott Cooper on August 20, 2013 in Egypt, EMP, Henry F. Cooper, High Frontier, Iran, Missile Defense

When Benjamin Franklin exited the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he was asked what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This is still our challenge today, since many seem uninformed of critical differences between a republic and a democratic government, which historically has eventually failed the nations that adopted it—as we just witnessed in Egypt. To preserve our way of life, we must return to the views of our founders, and shore up all three legs of Ronald Reagan’s stool—economic conservatives, social issue conservatives and foreign policy/defense conservatives. All three legs need help, especially our defenses because existential threats are more eminent than most realize. Read Full Story