Diligent team co-authored a recent feature article for the Washington Examiner titled Smarter Grid is a Smart Investment.  It is based on a 4-part strategy document we recently completed for the Lexington Institute regarding how to make the U.S. Electrical Grid more resilient, available here: http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/energy.  

Mike Barrett is part of a panel discussing the recent events in Egypt and how the current regime’s actions mean we should delay transfer of 20 F-16 fighter jets.  A link to the clip on YouTube is available by clicking here.

As several million Americans continue to struggle with the devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy, it is worth asking how the nation can better prepare to weather future natural and manmade disasters. This is particularly important in considering one of the storm’s most important impacts – namely, its near-total destruction of the electrical power grid and [...]

Diligent’s CEO Mike Barrett discusses the realities of the ongoing conflict in Syria and the reported possible use of chemical weapons.  Discussion includes 3 plausible scenarios regarding those reports, as well as putting the death in Syria in perspective in comparison to Mexico, another war torn nation and one that’s on our border and closer [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the ongoing sanctions against Iran and how the regime there continues to make investments thru revenues from smuggling oil into world markets in an interview with Melissa Francis of Fox Business News.  A clip of the interview is available on YouTube by clicking here: Oil Sanctions, Smuggling & Investments.

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett’s latest article appeared in The Hill newspaper on 29 October, 2012.  A pdf version of the article is available by clicking here: Battle Ready Radars.

Diligent’s CEO Mike Barrett discusses the evolution of asymmetric warfare and technology used by sub-state groups as reflected in the Israeli shoot-down of an unarmed drone, noting that the escalation of kinetic events portends a coming conflict.  A copy of the video on YouTube is available by clicking here:  Studio B, Israel Shoots Down Iranian [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses national security under the Obama Presidency and implications for US interests in Libya and across the region.  A clip of the interview on YouTube is available be clicking here.

Diligent’s CEO Mike Barrett explains on Fox Business Channel how the proposed nearly half-billion dollar of aid to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood would be better spent on fostering business opportunities and pro-modernity forces that want to engage with the world.  This is notably different form the MILITARY aid, for that goes to secure Egypt’s peace with [...]

Diligent’s CEO Mike Barrett discusses how cutting Military aid can be counter-productive because the Egyptian military is relatively moderate and modern and acts as a bulwark towards the more erratic civilian Muslim Brotherhood government. It is also a form of relatively affordable “insurance” and risk management in terms of keeping Egypt aligned to the Israeli [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the ongoing unrest across the Middle East and the Egyptian motion to suppress speech related to Islamic figures.  A link to the video on YouTube is available here: Studio B, 9-26-2012.

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett’s latest article, “All Revolutions Involve Chaos”, appeared in Defense News on September 24, 2012. A link to a .pdf version of the article is available here: All Revolutions Involve Chaos.

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the realism school of thought about non-intervention in Syria, pointing out that while the deaths there are tragic, if the US intervenes some of the coffins from that conflict will be draped with US flags and that just as the atrocities continue in Iraq and no one suggests we should [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett’s latest article, “The Dangerous Precedent of POTUS Picking Targets“, appeared in the Small Wars Journal on August 27, 2012.  A link to a .pdf version of the article is available here: The Dangerous Precedent of POTUS Picking Targets.

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the ongoing warfare in Syria and the Assad regime’s use of tanks and planes against civilians as an example of the case that this is all-out ‘Total War’ unlikely to end through negotiation, but rather only after significantly more bloodshed.  A clip of the interview is available on YouTube by clicking here: [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the ongoing warfare in Syria and the reality that this is about a broader regional Sunni-vs-Shi’a intra-Islam dispute and that while the opposition’s claims of a weakened regime cannot be taken at face value because they have an interest in creating the image of a faltering regime.  A clip of the [...]

Mike Barrett discusses State Dept Annual Report on Terrorism and especially Al Qaida and the terror group’s global reach and impact, including that the Administration’s claims of ‘core’ AQ being defeated are premature — that AQ remains a threat and claiming victory over one part could lead to complacency when the threat remains viable. The [...]

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses how Syria continues to evolve as a part of the Sunni-Shi’ia internal schism on Stuido B with Shepherd Smith.  Click here to see the video clip on YouTube.

Diligent’s J. Michael Barrett discusses the Administration’s tactical success in reopening the Pakistan supply routes into Afghanistan, but that the broader point is the entire policy makes no sense… since the threats are worth cross-border drone strikes today, but somehow in 15 months won’t be? The link via Youtube is here: http://youtu.be/jpRME0lxCGA

Diligent CEO Mike Barrett discusses the reported movement of chemical weapons within Syria and call for restraint and non-intervention by the U.S., explaining that Syria is not a core national interest of the U.S., we are uncertain about the character of the ‘rebels’ and whether or not they have terrorist ties, and there are other [...]