Bactria – Page 3 – The Scholar's Stage

The Missile Shield – Why We Planned It, Why We Scrapped It, and Why It Matters

01 October, 2009Bactria, Bargaining and Balancing, Central Asia, Entangling Alliances, Europa Regina, Russia

The security blogosphere is buzzing with talk of the Obama administration’s decision to scrap planned missile defense architecture in Eastern Europe. The majority of commentators have been content to play the role of cheerleader, offering no substantial analysis of the reasoning behind this decision or the diplomatic consequences of its implementation. As I read the […]

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Notes From All Over 8/09/2009

08 September, 2009Bactria, Bharat, Culture, Diplomacy, Media, Sustainability

TOP BILLING: The Ultimate Burden Bob Herbert. New York Times. 24 August 2009. Bob Herbert writes a disquieting Jeremiad against the American people for allowing their best men to have their limbs and faces torn off without giving a damn. By far the best opinion editorial I have read this year from the New […]

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Af/Pak in Tatters: The Debate Is On

17 August, 2009Bactria, COIN, Domestic Politics, Media, Pakistan, Strategy

Six months ago I wrote a post questioning America’s ability to wage a proper population-centric counterinsurgency. The post noted the structural features of modern democratic institutions that make waging a “Long War” near impossible. I ended this post with a projection for the next year: Can Modern America Wage Counterinsurgency?T. Greer. Scholar’s Stage. 4 March […]

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Can Modern America Wage a Counterinsurgency Campaign?

04 March, 2009Bactria, COIN, Military Affairs, Political Theory

Lt. General David Barno, the former commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, gave testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 26. His testimony is not small (30 pages in PDF form) but is an essential read for those concerned with the future of American efforts to stabilize Afghanistan. While much in […]

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Notes From All Over 1/19/09

21 January, 2009Africa, Bactria, COIN, DRC, Military Affairs, Notes From All Over, On Liberty, Rights of Humankind, Stealth Conflicts

A collection of recently published articles, essays, reports, and blog posts of merit.Freedom House has released its annual Freedom in the World Report. Freedom in the World 2009 is a thoroughly depressing document, with only one region – Southeast Asia – making significant gains. An image of the corresponding “Map of Freedom” can be seen […]

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Notes From All Over: 17/10/2008

17 October, 2008Bactria, Central Asia, Climate, Environmentalism, Europa Regina, Military Affairs, Notes From All Over, Persia, Russia

Here is the full list of notable blog posts, articles, and editorials published in the last two weeks that I was too lazy to blog about but are worth passing along anyway: Green Inc has an interesting post up on Polish efforts to block the next EU carbon-caps regime. While I dislike the general tone […]

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Poem of Past and Present

21 April, 2008Bactria, Books and Literature, Dogs of War, Military Affairs

Recently I have been able to re-read some of the poems of one of my favorite authors, Rudyard Kipling. The mark of any good piece of literature, it is said, is its continued relevance years after it has been written. On that count, one particular poem of Kipling’s, “Arithmetic on the Frontier”, has struck me […]

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Category Archives: Bactria

The Missile Shield – Why We Planned It, Why We Scrapped It, and Why It Matters

Notes From All Over 8/09/2009

Af/Pak in Tatters: The Debate Is On

Can Modern America Wage a Counterinsurgency Campaign?

Notes From All Over 1/19/09

Notes From All Over: 17/10/2008

Poem of Past and Present

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