By Dr. Richard Weitz 07/11/2011 - The recent successful launch of Russia’s RSM-56 Bulava (NATO code name SS-NX-30) Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) may finally mark a turning point for this troubled weapons system. On June 28, a Bulava left a submerged next-generation Borey-class submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, and flew…
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…
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…
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…
The United States and the Arctic By Rear Admiral Jeffrey M. Garrett, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired) 07/07/2011 - Long relegated to the periphery of world affairs—occupying the distorted top edge of a conventional Mercator projection of the world—the Arctic has been rediscovered in the first decade of the new millennium.…
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…
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 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…
