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Links to Articles on the State of the US Military
including a series this week from the New York Times
The Soldier’s Burden: Which America Have I Fought For?
We may wear the same uniform, but we have not always been fighting for the same America.
by Ike Wilson - Substack - 11-25-2025
https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/p/the-soldiers-burden
Affordability, Governance, and the Social Contract
Why American Renewal Begins With the Cost of Living
by Ike Wilson - Substack - 12-10-2025
https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/p/affordability-governance-and-the
Here’s a link to the site of the new book THE TRILLION DOLLAR WAR MACHINE by William Hartung and Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, co-founded by Andrew Bacevich, a guest on this show for nearly two decades. I respect the Quincy Institute as a source of information and insight re “responsible statecraft.”
The National Guard, the Insurrection Act, and Martial Law
by League of Women Voters - Updated 09-10-2025
https://www.lwv.org/blog/what-you-need-know-about-national-guard-insurrection-act-and-martial-law
5 Things to Know about U.S. Attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific
These strikes are extrajudicial killings. Congress must reassert its war powers authority to stop them.
by American Friends Service Committee - Updated 12-10-2025
https://afsc.org/news/5-things-know-about-us-attacks-caribbean-and-pacific
The New Narco-Terrorism War at Sea
Law, Legitimacy, and the Strategic Cost of Blurring War and Policing
by Ike Wilson - Substack - 12-03-2025
https://compoundsecurityunlocked.substack.com/p/the-new-narco-terrorism-war-at-sea
Not All Targeted Killings Are the Same. Hegseth’s Boat Strikes Are Illegal.
by Jeh Johnson - NYTimes - 12-07-2025
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/07/opinion/hegseth-boat-strikes-killings.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k8.NWL_.plucR4yKwA9V&smid=url-share [Free gift article]
Defense Secy. Hegseth Speaks at Reagan National Defense Forum
12-06-2025 - C-SPAN - video
https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/defense-secretary-hegseth-speaks-at-reagan-national-defense-forum/670073
The Trillion Dollar Trade Off: War & Weapons VS. Basic Needs
by Hanna Homestead - National Priorities Project - 05-13-2025
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/blog/2025/05/13/trillion-dollar-trade-what-if-presidents-budget-prioritized-communities-instead-war-profiteers/
Fmr Joint Chiefs Chair: Polarization Affects Military Ability to Remain Apolitical
Retired Adm Mike Mullen said political environment facing officers is difficult as ‘we have gotten so much more divided’
by Robert Tait - Guardian - 12-11-2025
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/11/us-polarization-military-politics
Selections from a New York Times series re the state of the US Military:
America Needs a New Definition of Service
by NYTimesEditors - 12/12/2025
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/12/opinion/editorials/us-military-recruitment-culture.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k8.XrY2.Skan8rIoBvph&smid=url-share [Free gift article]
This Is the Future of War
by NYTimesEditors - 12/09/2025
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/09/opinion/editorials/us-china-military-ai-tech.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k8.Z0zv.Doyjy3pTjZgH&smid=url-share [Free gift article]
Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Needs to Reinvent Itself
by NYTimesEditors - 12/08/2025
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/08/opinion/us-china-taiwan-military.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k8.xI5z.Yj8vQFrfEloc&smid=url-share [Free gift article]
Fixing the Pentagon’s Gilded Fortress
by NYTimesEditors - 12/10/2025
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/10/opinion/editorials/us-military-budget-waste.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8k8.7IS4.8PFoUKBnbb7r&smid=url-share [Free gift article]
I Resigned from the Military Because of Trump
I could not swear to follow a commander in chief who seems so willing to disregard the Constitution.
by Doug Krugman - WashPoast - 10-16-2025
https://wapo.st/44Ni1sP [Free gift article]
The Real Problem Is How Trump Can Legally Use the Military
Congress wrote statutes with the apparent assumption that whoever held the office of the Presidency would use the powers they granted in good faith.
by Jeannie Suk Gersen - New Yorker - 10-12-2025
https://tinyurl.com/yt45e7se
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Isaiah (Ike) Wilson III, also served as President of the Joint Special Operations University; Director of the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute and Press; and Chief of the Commander’s Initiatives Group for the Commander, U.S. Central Command. He founded the West Point Grand Strategy Program. His honors include the Defense Superior Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal. Wilson’s books include Thinking Beyond War, Letters to the Republic, and Blueprints From The Ashes.
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