In the Iran-Iraq War, F-5s and MiG-21s Fought to a Standstill
This story originally appeared on Sept. 19, 2016. There have been countless discussions over which is the better fighter jet— the U.S.-made Northrop F-5E Tiger II or the Soviet MiG-21 Fishbed. That can be a hard argument to settle. The Iran-Iraq war was probably a draw for the two types. More... Read more
Iran Is Too Much of a Mess to Acquire Russian Weaponry
This story originally appeared on Sept. 12, 2016. News reports claim that the Islamic Republic of Iran is in the process of deploying Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles and is either negotiating for, or has already placed an order for, 300 T-90 main battle tanks and at least 30 Sukhoi... Read more
A North Korean semi-submersible used in a 1983 infiltration mission. Photo via Wikimedia When caught, North Korean agents went down guns blazing by SÉBASTIEN ROBLIN In 1998, South Korean president Kim Dae-jung came to power with a “Sunshine Policy” attempting to reconcile with North Korea. That policy included providing... Read more
Gen. Joseph Votel, U.S. Central Command chief, on April 29, 2016. U.S. Army photo U.S. Central Command’s imperial proconsul is a master at embellishing an empty strategy by ANDREW J. BACEVICH By way of explaining his eight failed marriages, the American bandleader Artie Shaw once remarked, “I am an... Read more
An F/A-18F Super Hornet tests ‘Magic Carpet’ on the deck of USS ‘George Washington.’ U.S. Navy photo The U.S. Navy rolls out ‘Magic Carpet’ by DAVE MAJUMDAR Naval aviators from Carrier Air Wing Eight are preparing to deploy onboard USS George H.W. Bush with a revolutionary new type of... Read more
It’s not clear if this relates to the San Bernardino case by JOSEPH COX Cops are going to hack. As encryption and anonymity technologies continue to proliferate, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies increasingly use hacking tools to aid their investigations or identify criminals. With that in mind,... Read more
The M1 Garand carbine. Source The carbine version of the iconic weapon arrived too late for World War II by MATTHEW MOSS The World War II M1 Carbine was never actually meant to be a front-line infantry weapon. Rather, the U.S. Army had envisaged soldiers in support roles using... Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Gen. Joseph Votel, chief of U.S. Central Command, and senior military leaders at MacDill Air Force Base in February 2017. U.S. Central Command photo How the invasion of Iraq returned home to the United States by TOM ENGELHARDT If you want to know... Read more
USS ‘Washington’ in September 1945. U.S. Navy photo ‘Washington’s’ wartime service was exemplary by ROBERT FARLEY The London Naval Treaty of 1936 was intended to preserve the battleship size limitation at 35,000 tons and to restrict the size of battleship guns to 14 inches. With memory of the Anglo-German... Read more
Veracruz, Mexico. AdasArdor photo via Flickr Thousands of people have disappeared in the coastal state by PARKER ASMANN & ALISTAIR THOMPSON This article originally appeared at InSight Crime. A new report says harrowing corruption and violence have transformed Mexico’s Veracruz into a “state of terror,” and suggests that only... Read more