Category: intelligence

This week, we discuss why European host countries shouldn’t treat Ukrainian refugees like short-term visitors; how to reverse the erosion of U.S. and allied power and influence; Washington’s concerns over Taiwan’s defense spending; addressing the mental health crisis in U.S. jails; tackling existential threats from artificial intelligence; and how the conflict in Sudan is creating… Continue reading Ukrainian Refugees, U.S. and Allied Defense Strategy, Threats from AI: RAND Weekly Recap

Members of the House Armed Services Committee have expressed concerns over the electrification of Army combat vehicles. Though such concerns have some merit, there is also a larger issue motivating research and development efforts—the growing demand for energy on the battlefield. Strategists analyzing a potential U.S.-China conflict will often comment on the challenges presented by… Continue reading Do Generals Dream of Electric Tanks?

By Paul Sperry, RealClearInvestigationsAugust 1, 2023 The FBI’s efforts to mislead a federal court in order to wiretap an adviser to the Trump campaign were more extensive than previously reported, according to classified documents described to RealClearInvestigations. John Durham, special counsel: The FISA abuse that got away. AP The embattled bureau tried to hide its… Continue reading Deception by Redaction: More FBI FISA Abuses, This Time Using Fake News in the Washington Post

The future of humanity is becoming ever less human. The astounding capabilities of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence have triggered fears about the coming age of machines leaving little place for human creativity or employment. Even the architects of this brave new world are sounding the alarm. Sam Altman, chairman and CEO of… Continue reading Woe, the Humanity: How AI Fits Into Broadly Rising Anti-Humanism

Over the past 40 years, Western education has emphasized math, engineering, and invention, while neglecting the disciplines that allow us to cope with their creations. We are more equipped than ever to disrupt entire economies and ways of life with technology and less equipped than ever to deal with the consequences. If we want to retain a life worth… Continue reading In the New Scientific Age, the Non-Sciences Are More Important Than Ever

While it’s bad enough the debunked dossier the FBI used to spy on the Trump campaign was paid for by the Clinton campaign and authored by a foreign FBI informant and his carousing researcher, the newly released report of Special Counsel John Durham strongly suggests a top Justice Department official and his wife had an… Continue reading Ex-DOJ Official and Wife Had Bigger Roles in Dossier Than Known: Durham Report

Last July, as Beijing stewed about then–U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans to travel to Taiwan, then–House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said he would also lead a delegation to the island if he succeeded Pelosi as speaker. But now that he is speaker, McCarthy is abiding by the advice of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen to… Continue reading Juggled Plan for McCarthy-Tsai Meeting Does Taiwan No Favors

On December 16, 2022, Japan’s government released a new national security strategy, national defense strategy, and defense buildup program. In mid-January, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and key Cabinet officials visited Washington to jointly highlight these documents and discuss the next steps for the U.S.-Japan alliance with the Biden administration. At the time, much commentary… Continue reading Japan’s New Security Policies: A Long Road to Full Implementation

Americans have long been fixated on the idea of the short, decisive war. At the start of the American Civil War, Washington gentry traveled to watch the First Battle of Bull Run—to partake of a spectacle they presumed would soon end. In 1898, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay expected the Spanish-American War to be… Continue reading America’s Dangerous Short War Fixation

This week, we discuss how dementia in the national security workforce could create a security threat; Finland becoming the 31st NATO ally; learning loss associated with a four-day school week; this week’s U.S.-Taiwan news; preventing shortfalls in critical materials; and America’s dangerous short war fixation. Photo by Joshua Roberts/Reuters Americans are living longer and retiring… Continue reading Dementia and National Security, Finland Joins NATO, the Four-Day School Week: RAND Weekly Recap