American guns in Mexico. Numbers don’t lie: They just lie around and get twisted like pretzels

By Fred Edwards | 04/12/09

If Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tells reporters on a flight to Mexico City that 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States, it must be accurate, right?  If CBS newsman Bob Schieffer refers to the same percentage while interviewing President Obama, it has to be correct, right?  And if Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says at a Senate hearing: "It is unacceptable to have 90 percent... read more »

The Mexican monster: A many-headed Hydra

By Fred Edwards | 04/07/09

Greek mythology holds that the Hydra monster had nine heads, but Heracles, who was challenged to kill the poisonous creature, couldn’t keep track of the number because each time he cut off one, two grew it its place. Today, Mexico and the United States are confronting a Hydra of their own -- seven or more Mexican drug cartels operating trans nationally, along with an unknown number of gangs that engage in kidnapping and other criminal... read more »

Afghanistan is now Obama’s War

By Fred Edwards | 03/30/09

Even though the vice president echoed old Washington with the word "quagmire," President Obama listened to him and other top military and civilian advisors, and pronounced a focused strategy for Afghanistan and the surrounding region. Afghanistan is now Obama’s War. "So let me be clear,” he said, “al Qaeda and its allies — the terrorists who planned and supported the 9/11 attacks — are in Pakistan and... read more »

The Chinese Naval Threat and the Law of the Sea

By Fred Edwards | 03/23/09

As the U.S. Senate was debating the United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty, which some call LOST, on March 8, USNS Impeccable, an unarmed U.S. Navy ocean surveillance vessel, was mapping the sea bottom about 70 miles south of China's Hainan Island. The United States refers to the area as international waters, although the Chinese government claims it as part of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that stretches 200 miles beyond its geographical... read more »

Osama bin Laden and the economic meltdown

By Fred Edwards | 03/23/09

In warfare, we speak of centers of gravity, which when disabled or destroyed can topple the enemy. In conventional wars, centers of gravity consist of the enemy’s military forces and strategic infrastructure such as transportation and communication networks. For Osama bin Laden and his fellow jihadists, however, the American center of gravity is none of that. It is our money. In October 2005, Abu Mus’ab al-Najadi, a Saudi and active... read more »

Robots: Will they replace the military mind?

By Fred Edwards | 03/06/09

Crosshairs - Military Matters in ReviewIn the early 19th century, military philosopher Carl von Clausewitz wrote that it takes "genius" in war to translate classroom teachings into success in battle. Now, in the 21st century, technology is producing robots whose only genius lies in electronic circuitry. Consider what P. W. Singer of the Brookings Institution says in his book, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st... read more »

Iwo Jima: Two Flags, Two Symbols

By Fred Edwards | 02/27/09

Crosshairs - Military Matters in ReviewOn Feb. 23, 1945, surviving Marines and Navy men wearily greeted D-Day Plus Four on a barren island shaped like a dragon, with an extinct volcano for its head and a deep lava flow for its body. Black volcanic sand covered the lava. The island spanned two miles wide and five and a half long. It was named Iwo Jima, but Marines and Navy men ashore called it Sulfur Island because of the stink. On February 19,... read more »

Mexico: Terrorism on the southern front

By Fred Edwards | 02/15/09

Crosshairs -- Military Matters in ReviewThe United States is under attack from narco-terrorism. Here's how it's happening and what is being done about it. First, deep down in a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command's "Joint Operating Environment 2008" is the statement: "In terms of worst-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and... read more »

Guantanamo -- Pandora's Box

By Fred Edwards | 02/07/09

Crosshairs - Military Matters in ReviewRemember Pandora's Box, which contained all the evils of mankind? Considering some of the terrorists that are being considered for release from the U.S. Guantanamo detention facility, Gitmo contains a box crammed with evils. And President Obama opened the lid when he signed an executive order January 22 to close Gitmo. About 245 detainees remain at Gitmo, with 20 scheduled for trial and 60 deemed eligible... read more »

Guantanamo: The other side of the story

By Fred Edwards | 01/30/09

Crosshairs - Military Matters in ReviewWe've heard tales of torture at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo in Cuba. We've seen videos of detainees being led like sheep to some slaughter. And we've been bombarded with shibboleths like "civil rights," "habeas corpus," and the like. After years of this, we might begin to think that the United States sent the most vicious, sadistic people in uniform to Guantanamo. Well, it's time for the other... read more »