2014-05-12 By defenceWeb The United States has secured a ten-year lease extension on Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, an important base in the region, but may extend the lease for twenty additional years. The new agreement was announced on May 5, 2014 by President Barack Obama and Djiboutian President Ismail Omar…
2014-05-07 by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The evolution of USMC concepts of operations under the influence of the proliferation of the numbers and experience with the Osprey has been significant. It is clearly to be anticipated that a similar experience will unfold, as the F-35B becomes part of the…
2014-05-01 by India Strategic Dubai. Saudi Arabia held its biggest ever-military exercise over two weeks this April in three theaters across the country reportedly involving some 100,000 personnel from its army, navy and air force. Details were sketchy as usual from the rather secretive kingdom but officially published reports said…
2014-04-29 At the conclusion of his latest visit to Asia, President Obama signed an agreement with the Philippines on defense cooperation. According to a VOA story: The deal, known as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, will enable U.S. forces to train and conduct exercises with the Philippine military. At a…
2014-04-29 by Stephen Blank Even a year ago Russia seemingly played a limited role in the Middle East. Today Russia is vigorously advancing throughout the entire region. America’s widely, and sadly justifiably, perceived strategic retreat, confusion, and ineptitude only account for part of this transformation. While even Russian analysts admit that…
2014-04-28 by Harald Malmgren The hesitant, cautious, incremental responses of US policy towards Russia with regard to developments in Syria, Iran, and now Ukraine, and further Russian threats to Transniestria and other Russian “neighbors” is generating rethinking in Asian capitals. Notably, China’s PLA is ramping up its aggressive rhetoric about…
2014-04-28 by Robbin Laird With the breakup of the Soviet Union, a key challenge was the nuclear weapons on the territories of the former Soviet territories, which were now sovereign states. For Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, determining what do with Soviet weapons and how to address their role in the…
2014-04-27 With Afghan operations drawing down, it is important to remember how challenging the Afghan enivornment is and the impact of that operational environment has been on US and allied military equipment. A recent photo from Camp Bastion is a good reminder of the demanding Afghan environment. [caption id="attachment_64851" align="alignnone"…
