@RCDefense profile picture
RealClearDefense @RCDefense

RealClearDefense - Your source for the latest on Defense, National Security, Strategy, and Military Commentary and Analysis.

Joined February 2013
  • Tweets 53,586
  • Following 4,525
  • Followers 62,462
29,009 Photos and videos
The Case Against Another Iran Deal dlvr.it/TT1hbb

The Case Against Another Iran Deal

The fragile ceasefire that took hold in April 2026 after weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli strikes has already revealed its limits, further tested by the recent downing of a U.S. Apache helicopter and

realcleardefense.com
1
1
410
Counsel To Power: How Judge Advocates Turn Command Intent Into ‘Justice’ dlvr.it/TT1hXN

Counsel To Power: How Judge Advocates Turn Command Intent Into ‘Justice’

The Instrument of Power In today's military, particularly within the National Guard, administrative process has become the preferred method for resolving career-ending allegations and personnel disput

realcleardefense.com
2
3
635
Putin Is in a Perilous Position. Nothing Is Going To Save Him. dlvr.it/TT1hRx

Putin Is in a Perilous Position. Nothing Is Going To Save Him.

On May 28, Russian President Vladimar Putin visited the friendly neighboring country of Kazakhstan. The convoy that conveyed him through empty streets was extraordinary - 20 armored vehicles

realcleardefense.com
1
2
3
622
The Untold Story of a UN Secretary-General dlvr.it/TT112b

The Untold Story of a UN Secretary-General

U Thant’s rise to become UN secretary-general, the world’s top diplomat, was, to say the least, unlikely. Thant grew up in a small town in what was then rural Burma, at the time part of t

realcleardefense.com
1
2
1,627
Congress Warned the Pentagon About VMI dlvr.it/TT10tb

Congress Warned the Pentagon About VMI

A New Lawsuit Alleges Its Board Was Already Governing in Secret. The Virginia Military Institute is one of only six Title 10 Senior Military Colleges (SMCs) that commission officers for the United St

realcleardefense.com
2
4
943
Xi Draws a Line on North Korea’s Alliance Demands dlvr.it/TT10kM

Xi Draws a Line on North Korea’s Alliance Demands

The Pyongyang visit had one purpose: limiting China’s exposure as North Korean troops fight in Europe. Lost among the flag-waving children and red-carpet welcome for Xi Jinping in Pyongyang last

realcleardefense.com
369
Deterring an Attack on the U.S. Trumps Non-Proliferation? dlvr.it/TT10bN

Deterring an Attack on the U.S. Trumps Non-Proliferation?

The Nonproliferation Treaty is a useful tool, but not a core national interest. Deterring a Strategic Attack Is. The nuclear risk reduction community is having a rough go of it lately. There has

realcleardefense.com
319
Beyond Six Sigma dlvr.it/TT10N5

Beyond Six Sigma

Why 13-Sigma Security is a Zero-Failure Necessity for Global Survival The recent gunfire near the White House, resulting in Secret Service agents swiftly neutralizing a gunman, underscores a terr

realcleardefense.com
1
358
Iran Won’t Cross the Bridge. Make Standing Still Cost More. dlvr.it/TT109W

Iran Won’t Cross the Bridge. Make Standing Still Cost More.

A near-deal is on the table. The way to close it is calibrated pressure, not renewed war, and not another empty round of waiting. Two months after Operation Epic Fury, the United States faces a famili

realcleardefense.com
1
300
United States and Europe: A Divorce of Convenience dlvr.it/TSztGd

United States and Europe: A Divorce of Convenience

Introduction For decades, the American military presence in Europe has remained one of the key pillars of the continent’s security architecture. It provided not only deterrence against the Sovie

realcleardefense.com
3
2
1,774
Airpower, Landpower, Seapower – What Wins Wars dlvr.it/TSztBB

Airpower, Landpower, Seapower – What Wins Wars

In “Armies Can’t Win Wars Alone,” (RealClearDefense June 1st 2026) airpower advocate David Deptula  argues against the ”categorical” proposition that “only arm

realcleardefense.com
1
4
545
Civilian Judges Playing General: Activist Courts vs. Military Readiness dlvr.it/TSzt24

Civilian Judges Playing General: Activist Courts vs. Military Readiness

This week, a divided D.C. Circuit panel issued a 2-1 ruling finding that the Pentagon's policy disqualifying individuals with gender dysphoria from military service likely violates equal protection ri

realcleardefense.com
3
3
1,638
Xi’s Visit to Pyongyang Did Not Revive Denuclearisation Diplomacy – It Buried It dlvr.it/TSzshY

Xi’s Visit to Pyongyang Did Not Revive Denuclearisation Diplomacy – It Buried It

China has codified a “mediator’s veto” over North Korea, making any Western expectation of Beijing as honest broker obsolete. When Air China One touched down at Pyongyang Sunan Inter

realcleardefense.com
1
683
The Tail That Ate the Dog: How Bureaucracy threatens National Security dlvr.it/TSzsbd

The Tail That Ate the Dog: How Bureaucracy threatens National Security

In the lexicon of military doctrine, few concepts are as foundational as the

realcleardefense.com
1
418
We Compete the Same Thing Twice — And the Warfighter Pays dlvr.it/TSyvvC

We Compete the Same Thing Twice — And the Warfighter Pays

In a recent piece, I argued that a Joint AI Acquisition Repository (JAAR) could help cut redundancy and accelerate capability across the requirements, budgeting, and acquisition management systems. Ev

realcleardefense.com
1
417
The Strategic Price of Waiting: Iran, Time, and the Erosion of Deterrence dlvr.it/TSyvgv

The Strategic Price of Waiting: Iran, Time, and the Erosion of Deterrence

The hardest lesson in strategy is that time is not neutral. It is a resource, and someone is always using it. In the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, time has become a weapon—one Tehran wie

realcleardefense.com
3
3
1,589
A (Military Salvo) Salute!, Cin Cin!, Un Brindisi! To Italy dlvr.it/TSyvYj

A (Military Salvo) Salute!, Cin Cin!, Un Brindisi! To Italy

America owes much to Italy. That includes modern Italy, and not just Ancient Rome—though our debts there are particularly clear, from inspiring “Publius”, the nom de plume of the aut

realcleardefense.com
1
446
Protracted Iran-War Parleys: Is It Part of U.S. Strategy? dlvr.it/TSyvRY

Protracted Iran-War Parleys: Is It Part of U.S. Strategy?

Throughout history, a siege usually ended in surrender only when the defenders ran out of food and water. Till then, it was more expensive for the attackers to get close to the fort walls. Something s

realcleardefense.com
1
1,652
The U.S. Needs an Arctic Strategy It Can Sustain dlvr.it/TSyvFT

The U.S. Needs an Arctic Strategy It Can Sustain

In January 2025, a battalion commander conducting Arctic operations in subzero temperatures described the fundamental operational constraint this way:

realcleardefense.com
2
471
U.S. Strikes Iran After Downing of AH-64 Apache dlvr.it/TSyv5K

U.S. Strikes Iran After Downing of AH-64 Apache

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military launched airstrikes Wednesday on Iran following the crash of an Army helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz that U.S. President Donald Trump bl

realcleardefense.com
1
3
1,670
Load more