Category Archives: The Long War

Arabs Abandon the Mythology of Palestinian Victimhood

Posted on April 18, 2018 by William Holland

Mike Tyson once remarked that “everyone’s got a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”  Obama’s naiveté ushered in a deadly realism whose impact is the abandonment of the Palestinians. The demise of Arab nationalism ushered in militancy in … Continue reading →

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Short Premier on Israeli Calculations with Moscow via Syria

Posted on April 18, 2018 by William Holland

Putin continues to look the other way when the Israeli’s hit Iranian outposts just northeast of Golan.  Why? Because Israeli success in keeping Golan free from Iranian subversion makes Tehran dependent on Moscow.  Reports are confirmed that Putin gave assurances … Continue reading →

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The Syrian Backdrop As Battleground

Posted on April 18, 2018 by William Holland

When Obama pulled out of Iraq after being handed a win by team Bush, the political concerns that drove Obama’s decision paved the way for a surge that became the Islamic State.  That process of strategic defeat by absconding from … Continue reading →

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The Saudi’s Go Nuclear

Posted on February 24, 2018 by William Holland

It was only a matter of time.  Give the growing challenges that besiege this Kingdom, bin Salman had to acquiesce to the challenge thrown down by Iran and achieve parity with the Shia.  The House of Saud wants nuclear weapons … Continue reading →

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Secular Stag Out of the Barn & How Trump and Obama Remain Parochial Presidencies

Posted on February 18, 2018 by William Holland

When Lawrence Summers went back to the old keynesian playbook to justify a faltering economy of ultra low interest rates, militant intervention and macro-prudential efforts, he found the canard of secular stagnation a useful term to explain how (why) the … Continue reading →

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A Reckoning Called Qatar

Posted on June 25, 2017 by William Holland

Inter Arab rivalry remains the source of geopolitical friction between Qatar and the House of Saudi on the peninsula.  What makes it deadly is the fiscal and strategic security environment in which its occurring.  Given how weak Riyadh remains after … Continue reading →

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The Feat of Balshazzar: U.S. Policy Falters In Balancing

Posted on May 14, 2017 by William Holland

Anyone with even a mediocre classical education knows what “mene, mene, tekel upharsin” refers to; a doomed Empire.  What does this have to do with the Pax Americana?  If one looks to the Maghreb, the Arabian peninsula, Mesopotamia, southwest Asia, … Continue reading →

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Nadia Schadlow & the Reform of Dept. of Defense

Posted on May 14, 2017 by William Holland

Dr. Schadlow’s magnum opus is War & the Art of Governance, it remains a perennial achievement from which to dismantle the chorus of neo-isolationists that insist that Amerika Come Home; if team Trump under McMaster and Mattis are to win throughout … Continue reading →

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Fallujah: Again!!

Posted on June 8, 2016 by William Holland

The retaking of Fallujah is nothing less than a total repudiation of the Obama doctrine. May 22, 2016 was the day Iraqi prime minister Haider al-abadi decided to call the American’s to strategize on how best to tackle the Sunni … Continue reading →

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French War Plan: The Soft Underbelly of Africa. . .

Posted on January 27, 2015 by William Holland

If the French ever get serious about counterterrorism they should seek to capture or kill the Islamic leadership ravaging throughout French Africa.  Indigenous French resources aren’t readily at hand, however, the reach of Paris by proxy is advantageous. Chad began … Continue reading →

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