Author: Dr. Earl Tilford

Profile: Dr. Earl Tilford is a military historian and fellow for the Middle East & terrorism with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. A retired Air Force intelligence officer, Dr. Tilford earned his PhD in American and European military history at George Washington University. From 1993 to 2001, he served as Director of Research at the U.S. Army’s Strategic Studies Institute. In 2001, he left Government service for a professorship at Grove City College, where he taught courses in military history, national security, and international and domestic terrorism and counter-terrorism.

Website: http://www.visionandvalues.org/

May 8, 2012

Afghanization

Filed under: Foreign Countries & Policy - 08 May 2012

President Barack Obama’s five-point plan for turning the war back to the Afghans is designed to cover the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces and “forge a just and lasting peace.” What does the plan involve, and can it work?

May 1, 2012

Lessons Not Learned From Vietnam

Filed under: History - 01 May 2012

By Dr. Earl Tilford

After the fall of Saigon on April 29, 1975, military and civilian strategists sought “lessons learned.” Many were tactical or technical, such as the operational effectiveness of precision-guided munitions and the continuing need for guns on …

March 29, 2012

Bumper Sticker History: Remembering Some Truly Audacious Military Operations

Filed under: American Military,Featured Conservative,History - 29 Mar 2012

On March 19, speaking at a Morris Township, New Jersey Democratic Party fundraiser, Vice President Joe Biden provided what may be the mother of all election year bumper stickers when he asserted, “Osama Bin Laden is dead and General Motors …

March 9, 2012

Iran: Israel’s Options

Filed under: Foreign Countries & Policy,War On Terror - 09 Mar 2012

By Dr. Earl Tilford

Late in the summer of 1961, President John F. Kennedy asked the Air Force to plan a nuclear first strike on the Soviet Union. The plan involved 55 B-52 bombers hitting 80 targets to degrade Soviet …

March 5, 2012

Sorry Mess: Presidential Apologies and Pardons

Filed under: Politics In General - 05 Mar 2012

Much ink has flowed over the recent apologies from President Barack Obama, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and General John Allen, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, following the burning of copies of the Koran …

February 20, 2012

Strategic Abdication

Filed under: Featured Conservative,War On Terror - 20 Feb 2012

From Damascus to Tehran, a test for world leadership is underway. Daily, the Syrian military—well-armed, highly trained thugs whose current mission is to keep dictator Bashar Assad in power—kills up to 200 or more of its own citizens. Protests from …

January 31, 2012

Preparing the Military for Future Threats

Filed under: American Military - 31 Jan 2012

With breaking news of a U.S. Navy SEAL team successfully rescuing two hostages from pirates in Somalia, military pundits are quick to note how the deployment of small, elite units will fit in with President Barack Obama’s vision for modernizing …

January 22, 2012

Military Modernization: Back to the Future

Filed under: American Military - 22 Jan 2012

President Barack Obama’s vision for modernizing the U.S. military is little more than an exercise in “back to the future.”

Consider: Back in 2001, the armed forces were nearly a decade into positing what 21st-century warfare would entail. These considerations were …

November 18, 2011

Iran: How to Lose

Filed under: Foreign Countries & Policy - 18 Nov 2011

Once again, tensions between Iran and the international community are on the rise as the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, released a new report that warns of concealed attempts by Iran to produce an atomic bomb. …

August 14, 2011

The Need to Restructure the DoD: Part II

Filed under: American National Security - 14 Aug 2011

The U.S. Department of Defense must restructure to accommodate deep budget cuts and, more importantly, be ready for the challenges of 21st-century warfare. Those challenges will include unconventional operations and wars fought in vastly expanded battle spaces. Reforms are needed …

August 6, 2011

The Need to Restructure the DoD: Part I

Filed under: American Military,Featured Conservative - 06 Aug 2011

In 1914, on the eve of the Great War, the Duke of Cambridge wrote, “There is a time for all things. There is even a time for change; and that is when it can no longer be avoided.”