War of the flea: A 6-month report on US-led Op. Prosperity Guardian against Yemen

“Arrogance and ignorance shaped OPG [Op Prosperity Guardian]….OPG exposes failures in American intellect and imagination. It was formed with the premise that ships developed for the Cold War era have relevance to warfare of today. US Navy prepared for sea battles like Leyte Gulf (1944), not battles in the Red Sea. Failure of intellect and imagination is not limited to the Navy, but the Pentagon.” Follow this link to link to article.

IRGC and the “Death” of CIA’s “Ayatollah Mike”

On 3 January 2020, Trump assassinated Haji Qasem Soleimani. On 27 January 2020, the chief of CIA’s “Iran Mission,” Michael D’Andrea, “died” when his USAF Bombardier E-11A jet was downed in Afghanistan. Did he die? CIA claims he was “forced” to retire. Was the jet destroyed by IRGC?

The Alexander Trilogy by Mary Renault

Mary Renault is justly lauded as a groundbreaking LGBT authoress, but this detracts from her brilliance as a historian of ancient Greece and Persia. She methodically weaves history, geography, and Greek literature with fiction to depict the life of Alexander the Great: his childhood, love for Hephaistion, Philip’s court, tempestuous relationship with mum, Olympias, rise to power, and conquest of Asia. Renault’s books, which I started reading as a twelve-year-old, shaped my life, and developed in me, inter alia, a passion for Iran. The essay is part literary criticism, part history, part travelogue. Renault inspired my travels in Iran.

The OSINT Epidemic: Ignorance, Misinformation, Propaganda

Everyone is an OSINT expert these days. Twitter is swarming with OSINT accounts purporting expertise on Russia-Ukraine War and/or Israel-Palestine conflict. Businesses are seeking applicants with expertise in “OSINT tools, techniques and methodologies” and “HUMINT tradecraft” for sundry “threat intelligence” positions. Most OSINT experts have no intelligence or military background. They often supply propaganda, misinformation, or “confirmation bias” through ignorance, or, to satisfy the demands of their followers and/or paymasters.

Red Sea/Yemen SITREP: USS Eisenhower Rumors

Friday, 31 May 2024, Ansarallah claimed two direct hits on USS Eisenhower, which was in the Red Sea protecting Israel’s economic lifelines with American lives. Since Friday, Eisenhower and its captain have acted in ways that suggest there is truth to the Yemeni claim. Families of Ike's crew claim they have been unable to communicate with relatives on-board, suggesting a security clampdown is in effect.

Ronald Reagan: Tribute and Requiem

A tribute to Ronald Wilson Reagan, who died twenty years ago today, and a requiem for America. Reagan revitalized America after Vietnam. However, Reagan’s America that we loved; the America that we were proud to belong to; the America that we proudly served in uniform; the America that we would have sacrificed our lives for, is dead. Since he left office, America has slid inexorably toward the dustbin of history

Paean to an Alligator

I am not a combat helicopter man, being from the “boom, boom, boom, artillery” school; hence my focus on artillery and missile systems. However, I have fallen in love with Russia’s Ka-52 “Alligator.” It is clearly the finest attack helicopter in the business; far superior to the Cobra and Apache attack helicopters that witnessed action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Tamerlane and the Irascible Holy Man

Zayn al-Din Taybadi (d. 791/1389) is a captivating mystic of Mongol Iran. He was an irascible man, remembered by historians for his rudeness to Tamerlane (Temür; d. 807/1405). He in effect told Tamerlane (as New Yorkers like to say), to “take a long walk on a short pier.” This is the story.

Ayatollah Khamenei’s Letter to the Columbians

My analysis of Ayatollah Khamenei’s 29 May 2024 letter to US students was just published by PressTV. The essay is, “Ayatollah Khamenei’s letter to US students shaped by insightful reading of history, politics.” I concur with his assessment that “As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it.” Americans students, especially students at my alma mater, Columbia University, will be squarely on the right side of history, just as they were with the Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and anti-apartheid protests in the 1980s.

U.S./NATO Wunderwaffen: Failures in the Ukraine-Russia Conflict

Another U.S./NATO Wunderwaffe bites the dust. HIMARS (“High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems”) batteries were shipped by the U.S. to Ukraine with much fanfare in June 2022. By May 2024, it was clear even to the propagandists at the Washington Post and Daily Telegraph that HIMARS was “completely ineffective.” What makes HIMARS utterly useless?