On April 18, the evil spy company Palantir made a Twitter post—apparently based on a 2025 book by founder Alex Karp—about their philosophy that the government needs to transform into a "technological Republic." To channel Marge Simpson, I don't think our government can afford to hire any company that has a philosophy. The whole thing is grim; they essentially propose a tech dystopia and justify making any scary weapon the government asks for. In a recent article for the Libertarian Institute, Alan Mosley wrote, "This 'manifesto' is a cautionary tale of ideology cloaked in technobabble," and...

Over the last twenty years the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has expanded its power in Africa at an incredible pace. In countries across the continent, the UAE has made enormous investments in shipping, agriculture, energy, mining, and telecommunications. On top of this, they have set up a series of small military installations and made armaments and training deals in all corners of the continent. Due to their low population, most of whom are engaged in managing their economic interest and large foreign population, the Emirates’ military strategy relies on a small number of highly trained...