The most practical lesson I learned at Generation Prague was to never show up 25 minutes early to a State Department event, as doors typically open 25 minutes after they are scheduled to do so. My fellow compatriots and I endured 50 minutes of a coffee-less morning until finally, at 8:25, we were processed through …
Open Source and the MH17 Shootdown
by | 2014-07-24 | 1 Comment
What open source information is out there about the MH17 shootdown? Do the rebels have the Buk missile system that reportedly downed the aircraft? How has open source analysis helped analysts fact check the Kremlin’s claims about the shooting down of MH17? And what does all of this have to do with a billboard? Today, …
The Dogs of War
by | 2014-07-22 | 12 Comments
Fellow ACW readers, can you recall a time when the world seemed more inflamed and disordered? Governed spaces are shrinking. Wild men lay waste. The dogs of war have been unleashed and peaceful settlements seem more distant than ever. “World Wars” and “splendid little wars” are historical phenomena. The twenty-first century has given us a …
Bye-Bye Bipartisanship
by | 2014-07-16 | 13 Comments
A friend and I have an ongoing debate about the reasons for the plague of partisan rancor now afflicting Washington in general and arms control in particular. For my friend, the passage of the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) was the Rubicon. Before Obamacare, he points out that important domestic legislation received bipartisan support. These …
