Craig Whiteside

Somalia sees sharp rise in US strikes against ISIS and al-Shabab The U.S. military has launched its most intensive Somalia bombing campaign on record, U.S. Africa Command strike data show.

The U.S. military has launched its most intensive Somalia bombing campaign on record, carrying out more than 50 airstrikes in the country since the start of the year as it targets the militant groups al-Shabab and ISIS.

Congratulations Adam!

A Clash Over a Promotion Puts Hegseth at Odds With His Generals

A Clash Over a Promotion Puts Hegseth at Odds With His Generals www.nytimes.com/2025/07/26/u...

BYD Launches Its 7th Ship - CleanTechnica BYD decided at some point in recent years that it would be more economical for it to buy some giant car-carrying ships than to keep paying shipping companies to carry its cars to markets around the wo...

BYD Launches Its 7th Ship

cleantechnica.com/2025/07/17/b...

scatter plot comparing average age of lawmakers vs. median age of population across a bunch of contemporary democracies, showing that the United States is a real outlier, with lawmakers averaging almost 60 years old vs. a median age of the population of just 38. South Korea and Japan come closest with average lawmaker ages around 55, but their populations are older, and most countries on the chart cluster in the 40s.

Lots packed into @adambonica.bsky.social's new On Data and Democracy post, but I haven't seen this chart getting the attention I think it deserves. US lawmakers are remarkably old, and the gap here between population age and lawmaker age is exceptional.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/on-data-an...

Need this

my California pic from today

Israeli strike hits Gaza church, killing 3 and wounding priest who was close to Pope Francis

An Israeli strike hit the compound of the only Catholic church in Gaza, where hundreds have been sheltering from the Israel-Hamas war, killing three and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest.

Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating.

I’m former CIA so it pains me greatly to say this: INR analysts are some of the best in the IC and America will feel this loss deeply.

the power of culture and the centralized command selection board. Institution trumps all, even local commanders at war (mission command!)

If I had that in my cabinet I might have gone down that road. Instead I’ve graduated to a whisper of Mezcal in all my drinks.

I’ll do that.

Bold move by Texas to say that the First Amendment only applies during daylight hours.

That was my yesterday. Astounding how many things I failed. The value of stoicism (and an old fashioned)

Remarkable article

Chinese Aircraft Carrier Shandong Arrives in Hong Kong China's first domestically built aircraft carrier sailed into Hong Kong on Thursday, just days after the city marked 28 years under Chinese rule. Commissioned in 2019, the more than 300-metre (1,000-f...

China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier sailed into Hong Kong on Thursday, just days after the city marked 28 years under Chinese rule.

The MLR ≠ The Stand-in Force Untangling the confusion between SIF and MLRs.

Our latest in @usniproceedings.bsky.social! In "The #MLR =/= the Stand-in Force," we explain the troubling misconceptions that surround the Marine Littoral Regiment, the Stand-in Force, and the #authorities bound up within their capabilities.

www.usni.org/magazines/pr...

My first paper for @cja-news.bsky.social was a collaboration with my long-term partner in crime @craigwhiteside.bsky.social. In "From Allies to Foes", we trace the evolution of the Islamic State movement's relations to other Sunni Islamist insurgents in Syria up to the insurgent infighting of 2014.

On Obedience The U.S. Naval Institute provides an independent forum for those who seek to advance and strengthen the naval profession.

On Obedience www.usni.org/press/books/...

Youth involvement in terrorism is one of the most stable trends in recent decades.

I will, promise. Come out and visit us anytime. It is an oasis in the crazy.

Sirens: A Bombshell production: Tech Colonels, Posse Comitatus, Iran This is Sirens, a new podcast from the hosts of Bombshell. This week Loren, Erin, and Radha recast military movies with Muppets and kick off "it's a drill" - cocktail chatters on recent events like th...

We're back! (w/an editor!) @sirenspod.bsky.social episode two brings you all the goods: Silicon Valley colonels (do they need braided belts?); posse comitatus; public sector AI, Iran of course Iran, and a weird card game about submarines? Also also, Muppets. sites.libsyn.com/92063/tech-c...

brilliantly written; she will be missed.

A Military Ethics Professor Resigns in Protest Over the course of several months, Pauline Shanks Kaurin concluded she no longer had the academic freedom necessary for doing her job.

Seven years ago, Pauline Shanks Kaurin left a good job as a tenured professor, uprooted her family, and moved to teach military ethics at the Naval War College. Now she's leaving in protest of policies she can't support and that make her job impossible.

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

It’s a real profile in courage. The last line is perfect. I’m sad because you are my favorite person at the war college and someone I look up to. We will miss you for all the reasons stated in this article.

so sad to see this Pauline.

We can only make our Union stronger by learning about our history, acknowledging our mistakes, and applying the lessons of our past to our present.

Manzanar is a stunning and stark rebuke to fear and expediency. Nestled in the beautiful Sierras

US Sends Third Aircraft Carrier Towards Mideast as Iran Tensions Rise The U.S. Navy is preparing to deploy the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the Mediterranean, placing a third carrier strike group in reach of the Mideas...

US Sends Third Aircraft Carrier Towards Mideast as Iran Tensions Rise

maritime-executive.com/article/us-s...