2013-11-10 by Robbin Laird Frequently peppering American presentations about the evolution of military strategies, approaches and capabilities are references to the central importance of coalitions and of partners. But what is not often realized is HOW fundamentally the situation has changed over the past thirty years. When coalitions and partners…
2013-11-10 by Özgür Ekşi With respect to the Long-Range Air Defence Missile Project on which Turkey has been working for a long time, the final outcome has led to some public disquiet. The rumors of what might happen have turned out to be true. Upon the selection of the missile system…
2013-11-10 by Robbin Laird We have focused frequently on what Paul Bracken has called the Second Nuclear Age. Put succinctly, the rules are being made with every crisis involving the smaller nuclear powers or aspirational nuclear powers. These powers are not deterred by the old rules of the Cold War…
2013-11-09 By Baris Kirdemir Recently, Turkish authorities decided to start talks with China Precision Machinery Export Import Corporation (CPMIEC) to procure FD-2000 air defense missile systems. On September 26, Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) announced that the “Defense Industry Executive Committee” decided to start negotiations with CPMIEC to sign a…
2013-11-08 By Robbin Laird Upon returning to the United States from Europe, I had a chance to reflect back on my visit to Italy and the discussions, which I had with senior officials about their approach to the F-35. I was able to do so with Rear Admiral Covella, the…
2013-11-08 by Brittney Warrick According to documents leaked by now former American defense contractor Edward Snowden, the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) has for some time, engaged in large-scale efforts to target the communications of countries, embassies, political leaders, and diplomats worldwide. Over the course of a few months,…
2013-11-07 By Robbin Laird Having visited the Italian Air Ministry building and after this summer working through the history of military aviation in the 1930s, it was natural for me to explore the history of this striking building. The modernist building was constructed in the early 1930s and was used by…
2013-11-05 by Kenneth Maxwell On Monday, November 4th, the fallout of the Spying scandal continued in Brazil. The "Folha de Sao Paulo," Brazil's principal daily newspaper, reported that the Brazilian government, during the first two years of the Lula administration in 2003 and 2004, had spied on foreign diplomats in Brasilia, Brazil's capital, including Russia…
