The Atlantic Area USCG Commander Looks at the World

10/13/2011
10/13/2011 - In August 2011, Second Line of Defense sat down with Vice Admiral Parker in his office Portsmouth, VA to discuss the challenges facing the USCG in the Atlantic Area. [caption id="attachment_24526" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Vice Admiral Parker During the SLD Interview (Credit: SLD)"][/caption] Vice Admiral Robert C. Parker assumed…

Turkey Prepares for Syria Sanctions

10/13/2011
10/13/2011 By Richard Weitz The political turmoil in Syria is depriving Turkey’s ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP, or Justice and Development Party) of one of its most significant foreign policy achievements. Since the AKP came to power in 2002, Turkey and Syria have seen a major improvement in their…

An Update from Turkey

10/12/2011
10/12/11 by Richard Weitz Second Line of Defense was invited to send a representative on a study trip to Turkey for U.S. foreign policy specialists. The trip, which is occuring from October 7-14, included visits to Ankara, Hatay, and Istanbul and meetings with a range of government officials, academic and…

Shaping a Pacific Strategy IV

10/11/2011
10/11/2011 - The approach we are building is from the ground up – quite literally.  The US to protect its economic interests and sovereignty needs to deploy forward throughout the Pacific. We started with the USCG and its everyday forward deployments in the North and South Pacific.  And our interview…

Missing Libya Missiles Already Smuggled Out, U.S. Searches for Them

10/11/2011
10/4/2011 by Carlo Munoz   A number of sophisticated shoulder-fired missiles looted from Libyan armories have already been smuggled out of the North African country and we don't know where they've gone, a top U.S. general said today.   Africa Command chief Gen. Carter Ham said his organization picked up…

Enhancing and Defending Air Mobility

10/11/2011
10/11/2011 U.S. and allied forces have relied significantly on various air mobility assets in Iraq and Afghanistan and protecting these assets  has been crucial to mission success. Awareness of threats is a precondition for dealing with them. Coping with various manpads threats to air assets is a significant and constant…