The Challenge of Modernizing USCG Infrastructure: The Case of the Elizabeth City USCG Base

08/24/2010
An Interview with Captain Bennett Earlier this summer Second Line of Defense interviewed Captain Bennett, base commander at the Elizabeth City Coast Guard Station. Captain Bennett discussed the challenges facing the facility with aging infrastructure impacting on operations and capabilities. Our website looks at concepts of operations and capabilities. Clearly…

Zoltek Circumvents U.S. Export Controls By Moving Offshore

08/24/2010
By Richard McCormack One American company selling a widely produced global product that the U.S. government says could be used by rogue states against American national security interests has found a way around U.S. government export controls. Zoltek Corp., a St. Louis-based manufacturer of carbon-fiber, uses its factory in Hungary…

Iraq 2012: Anchoring Regional Security

08/24/2010
By Dr. Robbin Laird Much of the Iraq withdrawal conversation has revolved around either the date of U.S. departure or protecting Americans left behind. Missing from the debate is arguably the most important strategic questions: * How will Iraqi security be guaranteed during Iraq's continuing transition? * What U.S. security…

Russia’s New Fifth Generation Fighter

08/17/2010
By Dr. Richard Weitz The United States possess the only fifth-generation fighter currently in service, the F-22A Raptor stealth fighter, which entered the U.S. Air Force in 1997. The Russian Federation is hoping to join this exalted category in the next few years, with its new fighter plane, which began…

The PRC Claim to Super-Power Status and the F-22: Not so fast!

08/17/2010
By Hon. Ed Timperlake A very bold headline on July 30, 2010 in Peoples Daily asks a rhetorical question—“Is US ready to recognize China as world power?” Of course the article has a delicious sentence written with a sense of ironic whimsy that was apparently missed by the author-- “It…

High Tech CEO Wonders if Silicon Valley will Look Like Shenango Valley

08/17/2010
By Richard A. McCormack It might not be very long before Silicon Valley, Calif., starts to take on the characteristics of Shenango Valley, Penn., if state and national policies don't change to encourage investment in manufacturing and high-tech production, says Hank Nothhaft, president, CEO and chairman of the board of…