President Francois Hollande of France arrives Tuesday in Washington for talks with President Obama. Top of the list will be how much America is willing to commit to destroying Daesh, the terrorist group we used to call ISIL. Robbin Laird, Ed Timperlake and Harald Malmgren explore in detail what America’s options are, what France wants and… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: In keeping with its increasingly aggressive behavior over the past two years, Russia is deploying lethal and long-ranged anti-aircraft defenses to keep Western forces out of three key regions: the Baltics, the Black Sea, and, now, the Levant. From where NATO’s top commander Gen. Philip Breedlove sits, the Russian forces flowing into Syria don’t look… Keep reading →

Amidst the constant roar of very predictable Republican and Jewish opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, it’s often been difficult to discern intelligent and rational discourse. Rebeccah Heinrichs, who distinguished herself during her time as a Capitol Hill aide as a tough and intelligent partisan who didn’t always abandon the facts, offers this intriguing analysis of the possible effects… Keep reading →

Mitt Romney recently offered a PowerPoint presentation at his annual ideas festival in Park City, Utah to highlight President Barack Obama’s 20 worst foreign policy mistakes, grist for his argument that Obama is “the worst foreign policy president in history,” and Hillary Clinton a well-traveled but mistake-prone former “Secretary of Schlep.” In this election season… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: When President Obama released his new National Security Strategy last week, there was great gnashing of teeth from the GOP over one particular concept mentioned once in the strategy’s 29 pages: strategic patience. Sen. John McCain’s wingman, Lindsey Graham, launched the first strike with a tweet: I doubt ISIL, the Iranian mullahs, or Vladimir… Keep reading →

Colorado Republican Doug Lamborn is a fervent advocate for US aid to Israel’s missile defense programs, especially the celebrated Iron Dome. In this op-ed, the House Armed Services Committee member argues that such technologies are just one part of a larger strategy for the survival of Israel: living with perennial threats by regularly cutting them back — often… Keep reading →

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW: Raytheon, of all the American defense contractors, has made the biggest commitment to air shows in the last three years in hopes of boosting the company’s foreign market share to 30 percent from the current quarter of company business. Every American defense company, watching the debate over sequestration and the long-term prospects… Keep reading →

Libya or Iraq — which path will Syria follow? The rebel fighters of the Free Syrian Army have weathered a brutal crackdown and begun a rebound against the regime. Now the question is whether or not to arm them. Some analysts argue it’s the only way to keep up the pressure on the government of… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon has started to caveat its grand strategic mantra of a “pivot to Asia” – i.e. shifting from the land wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to preparing for “AirSea Battle” against China. In the Defense Budget Priorities released yesterday and, most critically, in Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s press conference explaining them, the emphasis… Keep reading →

Before designing and articulating a new defense strategy, DoD officials must answer an important question: Will the most dangerous twenty-first century threats emerge more from unfavorable order or unacceptable disorder? Unfavorable order is rooted in military competition with rising powers like China or Iran and conforms well to emerging concepts like Air-Sea Battle. Unacceptable disorder… Keep reading →