Lessons from Broken Japanese Supply Chains

07/11/2011
07/11/2011 By Dr Harald Malmgren Some analysts are forecasting a capital spending rebound in Japan as businesses “rebuild” after the Great Earthquake of March, 2011.  I believe a new wave of Japanese corporate investment is likely – but it is not evident where such investment will take place, whether at…

Emerging Alliance, Part III

07/08/2011
Criminalized States and Terrorist-Criminal Pipelines By Douglas Farah Senior Fellow, Financial Investigations and Transparency International Assessment and Strategy Center Adjunct Fellow, Americas Program, CSIS http://www.ndu.edu/press/emerging-alliances.html The Case of Charles Taylor in Liberia 07/08/2011 - Liberia under Charles Taylor offers several important lessons in this context. At the height of his…

How to Make USCG Modernization Unaffordable

07/08/2011
07/08/2011 Recently on AOL Defense, Michael W. Jones argued that maintenance costs are eating the modernization budgets in DOD.  Jones argues that a key need to is to buy for affordability by “smart budgeting.” Fortunately, there is a proven path forward for reducing ownership costs - while maintaining, if not…

Eurofighters, F-15s and Japan

07/07/2011
07/07/2011 - The Eurofighter has been down selected for the Indian competition and clearly the Eurofighter consortium hopes to replicate its success in Japan.  F-22 was a clear candidate for Japan, but the Administration preferred cancelling the program. The F-35 is clearly on the table as a U.S. offering, but…

Panetta At The Helm

07/07/2011
By Dr. Richard Weitz 07/07/2011 - Notwithstanding his achievements during his more than four years as Defense Secretary, Robert Gates left some unfinished tasks for his successor, Leon Panetta.He has many tough challenges ahead. The Senate’s 100-to-0 vote in favor of Panetta’s confirmation showed strong confidence in Panetta’s ability to…

Extended Deterrence and Assurance in Korea

07/06/2011
Extended Deterrence and Assurance in Korea By Dr. Richard Weitz 07/06/2011 - The growing nuclear threat from the North Korea, the rising power of China, and the Obama administration’s policy of generally de-emphasizing the role of nuclear weapons in world politics has led some South Korean security experts to question…

From the bridge of the Bertholf

07/05/2011
07/05/2011 MONDAY, MAY 9, 2011 As one of the Coast Guard’s newest assets, the national security cutters bring operational capabilities the fleet needs for mission success. Compass has asked the wardroom of Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf, the service’s first NSC, to share their unique perspective on how the fleet’s newest…