A poem by Myron (Mike) Swack. Introduction by b. traven. Mike and I were raised in a Jewish orphan home. Mike was a year younger than I. I volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps cadet program and was accepted in early 1943. Mike volunteered for the army shortly after me but he was only…
Jacek Popiel Editor’s Introduction: Russia has been much in the news lately, with Vladimir Putin described as equal parts Machiavellian dictator and strategic chess master, especially with regards to his moves in Syria and the greater Middle East. Is the Cold War, in a word, back? Enmity between the U.S. and Russia is hardly…
Walter Stewart Editor’s introduction: I’m a product of the all-volunteer force, having joined ROTC in 1981. But I’m a strong believer in a citizen military, one in which the burden of defending the Constitution, as well as the privilege of doing so, is shared equitably among all young citizens. Walt Stewart is a product of…
Nicolas J S Davies To listen to the Republican candidates’ debate, one would think that President Obama had slashed the U.S. military budget and left our country defenseless. Nothing could be farther off the mark. There are real weaknesses in Obama’s foreign policy, but a lack of funding for weapons and war is not one…
Jacek Popiel In earlier articles (here and here) we have pointed out: China’s economy is headed downwards, with major problems facing its government and people. History shows that such situations, if serious enough, have led to the breakdown of the Chinese state. As the United States and China are intimately tied on many levels, what…
P.J. Sullivan Americans have a powerful affinity for predators. Our national symbol, the American eagle, is a flesh-eating raptor, the top predator of the skies. The pets we dote on, cats and dogs, are carnivores. We kill for them and invite them into our homes, even into our beds. When Cecil the lion was killed…
Michael Gallagher Pope Francis was praised in the New York Times as showing a “deft hand” in diplomacy during his recent American trip. A manifestation of his deft hand was his lamentable failure, especially in his address to the United Nations, to condemn the policy of nuclear deterrence: the idea that peace can be kept…
Peter Van Buren Editor’s Note: TCP is especially proud to offer an original article by Peter Van Buren, author of We Meant Well, a compelling account of U.S.-led rebuilding efforts in post-invasion Iraq. Van Buren, who worked closely with American troops in Iraq, knows the bloody nature of war, which makes him doubly aware of…
Daniel N. White Introduction: America’s self-declared war on drugs is in its fifth decade with victory nowhere in sight. In fact, the war has created its own violent dynamic, its own complex of deeply conflicted interests. In the USA, that would include the DEA, Homeland Security, the FBI, and most other law enforcement agencies;…
Jacek Popiel A few weeks ago we examined the source of China’s “meteoric” rise to the rank of the second largest world economy and concluded that the “miracle” was essentially a one-off play based on offering the lowest cost for the production of goods for export. While successful, the policy destroyed both income and assets…
The Contrary Perspective 