China-Iraq Ties: Oil, Arms, and Influence

06/25/2012
6/25/12: By Richard Weitz Sino-Iraq relations will likely continue to strengthen in the near future. China, which imports more than half its oil, needs Iraqi energy, while Iraq, which continues to suffer from sectarian violence and an unstable political environment, depends heavily on China’s willingness to invest in the country…

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Management: An Update

06/24/2012
6/24/12: By Richard Weitz On November 10, 2011, the Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Hudson Institute Center for Political-Military Analysis and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) hosted a workshop to discuss the future of the Department…

Allies and the F-35: Getting on With It

06/24/2012
6/24/12: by Ed Timperlake A recent Heritage Foundation seminar focused on the F-35 and allies. The presentations were by Colonel Kevin J. Killea, 
United States Marine Corps, Dr. Robbin F. Laird, 
Co-Founder and Senior Analyst, Second Line of Defense and Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski 
Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK). The…

The Norwegian F-35 Decision: Understanding the Impact of Weapons Integration

06/21/2012
6/21/12: by Robbin Laird A key element of the F-35 decision by Norway was the acceptance of the integration of a new Kongsberg missile onto the F-35 itself. Through the development of the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), the Norwegian Armed Forces has established KONGSBERG and other Norwegian industry in the…

Iraq New Dawn: The Challenge of Sectarian Divisions

06/19/2012
6/19/12: by Richard Weitz In addition to these strains between Iraqi Sunnis and Shiites, three sources of Arab-Kurdish tensions exist despite their shared Iraqi Sunni background: territorial disputes, constitutional disagreements, and diverging foreign policy orientations. Since 2003, Iraqi Kurds have simultaneously been creating an autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in…

Brazil’s Military Role in Haiti

06/19/2012
6/19/12: by Kenneth Maxwell The "Folha de Sao Paulo" reported on Monday, June 11th, 2012, that Brazil has spent almost R$2 billion in Haiti between June 2004 and May 2012. What began as an emergency military operation to provide security for six months with a cost estimated at R$150 million, reached almost R$…

A Marine Corps Perspective on the F-35: Getting on With It

06/17/2012
At a roundtable on the F-35 and allies held at the Heritage Foundation on June 7, 2012, Colonel Kevin J. Killea
provided a Marine Corps perspective on the program. Currently, he is the head of Aviation Weapons Requirements branch for headquarters United States Marine Corps.  He’s a graduate of both the…