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Monthly Archives: April 2015
Pentagon Wrongly Accuses Iran?
Today’s New York Times has an article which reinforces Iran’s image as a “rogue nation.” The article describes its seizure of a cargo ship, how “Iranian forces fired shots across the ship’s bow,” and ends with a former State Department official calling Iran’s actions “surprisingly incendiary.” However, KGS NightWatch, a highly respected private intelligence newsletter, has a very different take: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, iran, martin hellman, nuclear risk, stanford, war and peace
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Saber Rattling Works, But Which Way?
We hear repeated assurances that appearing strong and belligerent will get our adversaries to back down and behave. A 1995 USSTRACOM report even argued that we should cultivate a national persona that is “irrational and vindictive” in order to induce fear in our opponents. But … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, deterrence, martin hellman, nuclear risk, stanford, ukraine, war and peace
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Putin’s Surprising Comparison of Nazism and Stalinism
Yesterday’s Moscow Times had an article by one of my favorite Russian commentators, Fyodor Lukyanov, which highlighted a very surprising moment in Putin’s four-hour address to the nation. In Lukyanov’s words: Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged American exceptionalism, critical thinking, Fyodor Lukyanov, martin hellman, nazism, putin, russia, stalinism, stanford
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NBC Fell for Syrian False Flag Operation: Increased Nuclear Risk
Bias in our media’s international reporting is one of the greatest risks to our national security. Read on to find out why I say that, and to see the latest example to come to light. In this new instance, NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel fell hook, line, and sinker for a false flag operation which blamed Syrian President Assad for Engel’s harrowing kidnapping, when in fact, it was Assad’s opponents who were at fault. Engel blamed not only Assad, but also Iran for his kidnapping. While he has now retracted those allegations, it’s hard to repair the damage. “Confirmation bias” causes his initial, false accusations to find a more prominent place in the American psyche than his retraction because we emphasize evidence which confirms our current beliefs, no matter how wrong they might be. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged critical thinking, martin hellman, media bias, nuclear risk, Richard Engel, stanford, syria
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US Hawks Unwittingly Aid Iranian Hardliners
While it is the opposite of their intent, hawks in the US who suggest attacking Iran provide ammunition to Iran’s hardliners, including those who want to develop nuclear weapons. The most recent example to come to my attention is a radio interview in which Senator Tom Cotton argued that “if military action were required … it would [not involve boots on the ground, only] several days of air and naval bombing.” Continue reading
Defusing the Nuclear Threat 