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Cyber Warfare and International Law: Differing Views

The United States, Russia and a United Nations arms control committee are discussing methods to...

Security and Energy: China and Central Asia

The government of China has funded and opened a pipeline going from Turkmenistan to Xinjiang province...

Just War and Afghanistan

Found this article in Dissent magazine interesting: "Is Obama's War in Afghanistan Just?" by Michael...

The Trouble with Drones

The trouble with drones is proliferation and sovereignty.  Take this story for example where...

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Executive producer of the Loopcast, a security and technology podcast, on twitter as @theloopcast... Read More »

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Shifting Paradigms in War

Shifting Paradigms in War

Sep 17 2009 | comment(s)

Discussion Questions from class:

1) Realists argue that states are the principal actor in the international system. Is that as true today as it was in earlier times? Why or why not? 2)Do you agree that the security of the state is/ should be the driving force behind foreign policy decisions? Why or why not?

Nuclear Weapons, the Cold War, and the Art of the Status Quo

Nuclear Weapons, the Cold War, and the Art of the Status Quo

Sep 10 2009 | comment(s)

We had this question posed to us in one of my classes. Here is my answer:

Did the existence of nuclear weapons cause a dramatic change in the conduct of foreign policy or the options available to nuclear states? Why or why not?


To answer this I'll off with a quote from Mao Tse-Tung: Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive one; it is man and not materials that counts. To get to the crux of issue whether nuclear weapons caused a dramatic change an examination of linking the military and weapons to the policy creating branch of the government.

Security And Science: Nuclear Proliferation

Security And Science: Nuclear Proliferation

Sep 07 2009 | comment(s)

One of the larger topics concerning international security and science is the nuclear proliferation among states and potentially non-state actors. The genie has been let of the bottle so to speak. For this entry I'll discuss two forms of proliferation: dual use and modification.
Security And Science: Energy And Logistics

Security And Science: Energy And Logistics

Sep 07 2009 | comment(s)

“But to focus on combat vehicles is to miss the more important usage and dependency trends. In a study of fuel use in Iraq, the Marines found that only 10 percent of their consumption was by armed vehicles. The remainder was consumed by logistics vehicles. For the Army, only two of its top ten fuel consumers are combat vehicles. Ironically, three of the four least fuel-efficient Army vehicles are trucks that haul fuel.
Security and Science: Oil and China

Security and Science: Oil and China

Sep 06 2009 | comment(s)

"One year later, the China National Petroleum Corporation has struck oil at the Ahdab field in Wasit Province, southeast of Baghdad. And while the relationship between the company and the Iraqi government has gone smoothly, the presence of a foreign company with vast resources drilling for oil in this poor, rural corner of Iraq has awakened a wave of discontent here."
Security and Science: Rare Minerals and China

Security and Science: Rare Minerals and China

Sep 04 2009 | comment(s)

This story caught my eye. 

"China currently accounts for 93 percent of production of so-called rare earth elements — and more than 99 percent of the output for two of these elements, dysprosium and terbium, vital for a wide range of green energy technologies and military applications like missiles."

"In each of the last three years, China has reduced the amount of rare earths that can be exported. This year’s export quotas are on track to be the smallest yet. But what is really starting to alarm Western governments and multinationals alike is the possibility that exports
will be further restricted. "