Our picksSuicide of the West; the toll of trauma; prison riot as “mass casualty” event, and more

Published 17 April 2018

· Suicide of the West: tribalism threatens liberal-democratic ‘miracle’

· Trump’s Syria strategy actually makes sense

· A Trump Doctrine for the Middle East

· The toll of trauma: What Bangor police are doing to fight a silent threat

· South Carolina prison riot characterized as “mass casualty” event

· Dispatchers — the calm among the chaos

· With fewer police applicants, departments engage in bidding wars

· Command and control: A fight for the future of government hacking

Suicide of the West: tribalism threatens liberal-democratic ‘miracle’(Democracy Digest)
The liberal democratic order is threatened from without by the resurgence of autocratic states and illiberal non-state actors. But it is also being undermined from within by a new tribalism of identity politics which puts ‘the miracle’ of liberal-democratic capitalism at risk, says analyst Jonah Goldberg. Almost everything about modernity, progress, and enlightened society emerged in the last 300 years, he  argues in Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics Is Destroying American Democracy.

Trump’s Syria strategy actually makes sense(Kori Schake, Defense One)
And it does not involve a commitment to change the horrible and predictable outcome of the civil war.

A Trump Doctrine for the Middle East(Martin Indyk, Defense One)

And it does not involve a commitment to change the horrible and predictable outcome of the civil war.

The toll of trauma: What Bangor police are doing to fight a silent threat(Callie Ferguson, Bangor Daily News)
As a result of their jobs, law-enforcement officers live at a higher risk of developing physical and mental health problems that reduce their life expectancy, according to a study.

South Carolina prison riot characterized as “mass casualty” event(German Lopez, Vox)
The riot, in which seven were killed, is part of a broader epidemic of violence in US prisons.

Dispatchers — the calm among the chaos (Tara O’Neill, Connecticut Post)
Dispatchers manage to stay calm even when a caller is in the midst of chaotic and under stress because ‘the emergency’s not here.’

With fewer police applicants, departments engage in bidding wars (Mike Maciag, Governing)
Hiring police officers is much harder than it used to be. To stay competitive, some are offering generous pay increases and bonuses.

Command and control: A fight for the future of government hacking (Chris Bing, Cyberscoop)
Following years of effort and billions of dollars’ worth of research and planning, the nation finally has a fully operational force of cyberwarriors at U.S. Cyber Command. Yet, as those troops confront adversaries around the world, there’s uncertainty across government about how to best make use of them.