When British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with President Obama this week, their discussions about Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran will dominate headlines. Also important, though less high profile, is the two allies’ preparations for NATO‘s May Chicago Summit, which will seek to bolster the alliance’s strained mission in Afghanistan and develop plans to maintain essential… Keep reading →

Sen. Grassley presses Panetta on ‘egregious waste and misconduct’ at DoD dug up in Inspector General reports. bit.ly/xZsHKR colinclarkaol

See most of ur major Pgon #budget nrs here. More coverage coming thru the day. http://bit.ly/zCQPDE aoldefense

WASHINGTON: Given earlier comments by the F-35 program head, today’s remarks by the acting head of Pentagon acquisition that “putting the F-35 into production years before the first test flight was acquisition malpractice,” isn’t really news so much as confirmation that senior Pentagon leaders know mistakes were made. Frank Kendall, who has been nominated to… Keep reading →

Good insight on Senate fm Inouye’s earmark remarks: Earmarks leave Senators “open to unseemly bargaining with Executive branch.” Unseemly! colinclarkaol

Think Hill doesn’t know what vermin Americans think they r? Sen. Inouye sez “trust in Congress is at all time low” in extending earmark ban colinclarkaol

Election news & NOTE to #defense contractors: “Senate Appropriations Committee Announces Extension of Earmark Moratorium.” Smart politics colinclarkaol

NATO HEADQUARTERS: After more than 15 years, NATO will finally grant approval to buy five Global Hawk Block 40s to help plug the gaps in the alliance’s intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance that grew so glaring during the Libya operation. In addition to that important news for the 28 nations that comprise NATO, the alliance will… Keep reading →

NATO HEADQUARTERS: The People’s Republic of China and NATO hold little known high-level consultations, usually twice a year. “We have had regular exchanges with the Chinese. They are not frequent,” James Appathurai, NATO’s deputy assistant secretary general for political affairs and security policy said yesterday. He mentioned the Chinese meetings in passing during a briefing… Keep reading →

New director of Joint Staff is… drumroll please… Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti. He was in Afghanistan as ISAF Joint Commander colinclarkaol