Parsing Putin’s Foreign Policy Treatise

03/02/2012
by Richard Weitz Vladimir Putin, currently Russia’s prime minister and a candidate for the Russian presidency, set out his core foreign policy views in his latest pre-election newspaper article. Unlike most election manifestos, the content of this one seems to reflect Putin’s genuine views and the actual policies he will implement if elected.…

Iran Approaches Israel’s “Zone of Immunity”

03/01/2012
by Richard Weitz The February 24 report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran’s nuclear program described many instances of Iranian obfuscation regarding its suspicious nuclear activities as well as noticeable increases in the quantity of enriched uranium that Iran is producing and stockpiling. As a result, the…

SuperTucano Vs AT-6: The “Smoking Hole”

03/01/2012
by Ed Timperlake "While we pursue perfection, we sometimes fall short, and when we do we will take corrective action," said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, in a statement Tuesday (Feb 28, 2012). The USAF just withdrew their selection of the SuperTucano for the Afghan Army Air Force LAS. Numerous…

A Letter from Congressman West: Where is the Support for Our Afghan Ally?

03/01/2012
Congressman Allen West has written a letter to Secretary of the USAF Donley. He has requested a sense of what the USAF is going to do to deal EXPEDITIOUSLY with a glaring need.  The Afghans need the kind of fighting equipment that helps them and helps us make the transition…

Re-Thinking Maneuver Warfare From the Sea

02/29/2012
by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The Libyan operations and Bold Alligator 2012 provide important inputs to re-thinking maneuver warfare from the Sea.  Both operations involve amphibious capabilities and the leverage of sea bases to re-shape how the US and its allies can operate in a new approach leveraging the…

Bold Alligator in the Review View Mirror: 2nd ESG Reflects on Lessons Learned

02/29/2012
Prior to the Bold Alligator 2012, Second Line of Defense visited with the planners and leadership of Expeditionary Strike Group 2.  The ESG-2 team provided a core baseline to understand the approach and the objectives of the exercise. https://sldinfo.com/from-being-a-greyhound-bus-to-becoming-a-strike-force-bold-alligator-2012-shows-the-way/ https://sldinfo.com/esg-2-prepares-for-bold-alligator-2012/ https://sldinfo.com/planning-for-bold-alligator-2012/ We had a chance to come back after the…

Laying a Disaster for The Department of Defense: One Snow Shovelling at a Time

02/29/2012
Are We Confusing Budget Cuts with Savings? by Bill Anderson Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting one of our larger U.S. military installations.  As I spoke to the men and women charged with the tough line responsibility of maintaining readiness in this challenging budget environment, I immediately noticed two…

Kazakhstan-China Security Ties

02/26/2012
By Dr. Richard Weitz 02/26/12 - China and Kazakhstan have generally achieved a harmonious relationship in which the two countries can engage in mutually beneficial economic, energy, diplomatic, and security partnerships that produce a “win-win” outcome for both parties. For centuries, Kazakhstan’s leaders perceived China as their main security threat,…